Quote:
Originally posted by Spanky
I don't remember. This vote is going to be a drive right down the center. The far left democrats don't want to vote for anything the Governator puts forward and the Conservative Republicans don't like it for obvious reasons.
This would easy but for the gerrymander. There are a lot more zealot Dems and Repubs than there should be. It will be interesting to see how people line up on this.
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California has much more of a challenge than the smaller states that have tried it. There are more uninsured in California than there are people in Massachusetts.
Small business aren't going to like it because of the requirement to offer their people insurance or pay a penalty.
Physicians aren't going to like it (unless, of course, the number of visits goes up due to increased coverage) because of the new tax on their practices. Also, there's a question of what reimbursement will look like. Certainly it should be better than MediCal in order to get buy in.
Consumers? Dunno. It depends on how good the insurance is that follows. I don't know if most people are going to end up under Knox-Keen type plans or traditional insurance. Because of the way that managed care dominates the market, I'd assume the former.
I think success will be dependent on how much it's going to end up costing the average consumer. If some independent contractor making $45,000 a year who hasn't been had health insurance pays $40 a month for a physicial, prescription coverage, maybe a few referrals and catastrophic care, then maybe he'll be able to afford the lipitor prescription and keep his blood pressure and cholestorol down. On the other hand, if it's costing upwards of $200 a month, the whole thing may not be affordable at all, even if he is paying penalties on his state income tax return.
Someone running for Congress here a few years ago suggested that we should consider some sort of FEMA type coverage for catastrophic care in ordinary individuals. I kinda like that, so even if the insurance runs out, there's another safety net to catch the bypass surgery or the premature birth and subsequent two months of NICU care or other completely unexpected and potentially financially ruinous healthcare expense.
I like models that put nurse practitioner* clinics all over the place, especially in grocery stores, Target, near the post office, at Home Depot. Places where ordinary people visit fairly regularly and easily. These clinics operate without an appointment, and can get the little stuff like UTI's, ear aches, flu shots, and other minor conditions taken care of. Sort of like the way everyone used to treat the student health clinic back in college. In places that they work, the care isn't very expensive, even for people who don't have health insurance.
*I'm very pro-nurse practitioners. My personal physician I've never actually met. I just go to a nurse practitioner clinic annually and get everything taken care of there. If something comes out wrong or abnormal, they can kick it up to the physician. The nurses are wonderful and it's more cost effective for my insurance plan. I practice (healthwise) what I preach and try very, very hard not to use services unnecessarily. I'm also ridiculously healthy (more due to genes than anything else) so I don't have much to worry about that would cause a physician any concern.
