Health Care bill to be voted on MondayBy CMTA Staff |
After an 11 hour Senate Health Care Committee hearing, Thursday, January 24th, which reviewed every aspect of the massive Health Care Reform (HCR) package, the Senators adjourned until Monday when a vote on ABx1 1 (Fabian Nuņez) will be taken. The marathon hearing brought out dozens of stakeholders that expressed their support, opposition or concerns about the implementation and financing of a HCR package. Senator Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica), chair of the committee, provided a unique opportunity by creating an extensive agenda that allowed individuals to testify on every aspect of the bill, from individual mandate, regulatory reforms and financing. The most anticipated portion of the agenda came at the beginning when representatives from the Legislative Analyst Office (LAO) made a presentation on their fiscal analysis of ABx1 1 and its potential impact on the general fund. The report primarily outlined potential risks that the state would face if certain factors were to occur over the course of five years while the program is implemented. The conclusion was a potential $4 billion dollar deficit. The report provided a thorough perspective of all the potential risk factors and urged the legislature to examine more in depth the long term effects and fiscal solvency of the HCR proposal. The LAO in general outlined the following risk factors: There is speculation on how the vote will turn out when the Senate Health Care Committee convenes again on Monday, January 28th. Senator Kuehl has expressed her opposition to the bill because she supports a single payer system and other Democratic Senators have begun to express concerns with passing such a massive proposal during an economic downturn. Speaker Nuņez and Governor Schwarzenegger must convince the Senate that this bill, at this time, is in the best interests of California. |
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