“So why would we want to create even more government?” “The reason health care is messed up is the government,” argued Assemblyman Ray Haynes, R-Murrieta. “This government-run health care scheme will jeopardize the quality care that Californians have come to expect and drive businesses out of our state,” said Assemblyman Greg Aghazarian, R-Stockton. Many Republicans said they supported the idea of universal health care but said a single-payer system is not the way to accomplish it. “Providing universal health care, he said, “would help California take leadership at a national level.”Īssembly Republicans voiced strong concerns over the bill, calling it “socialized medicine” and “doomed to failure.” They compared the proposed state insurance agency to “bloated bureaucracies” such as the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Internal Revenue Service. “The health care system today is teetering on collapse,” said Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles. In April, Massachusetts passed a law requiring all residents to buy health insurance or face legal penalties, essentially treating health care the same way it does auto insurance. The agency would be under the control of a health insurance commissioner appointed by the governor. It would provide every California resident with health insurance through a system controlled by a newly created entity called the California Health Insurance Agency. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, must be approved by the state Senate before it heads to the governor’s desk. The governor’s office has declined to take a position on the bill, but Schwarzenegger in the past has voiced his opposition to single-payer systems. But supporters say pressure from the insurance industry and Republican lawmakers is likely to doom the measure when it reaches Gov. The bill, which passed the 80-member house on a largely party-line vote of 43-30, received strong Democratic backing. SACRAMENTO, CA - The Assembly narrowly approved a bill Monday that would provide health insurance to all residents, a move that would make California the only state to offer government-operated universal health care.
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