California could pose problem for Obama's healthcare reform

[flamingdem]

California, a model for healthcare reform, is seeking to impose some of the toughest limits on government-subsidized coverage. If approved, the limits could herald deep Medicaid cuts nationwide.

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-na-california-healthcare-20110915,0,7723001.story


excerpt:
California, which already pays Medi-Cal providers less than all but two states, also is pushing to cut payments to doctors, hospitals and others who serve Medi-Cal patients by 10%. That would drop reimbursement for a standard physician visit to less than $12.

"This isn't the way we'd want to run a Medicaid program," said Toby Douglas, California's Medi-Cal director. "If it wasn't for the state fiscal crisis, we … would not be going forward with these proposals. We would be focusing solely on healthcare reform."

Medical providers and patient advocates are growing increasingly concerned, however, that the cuts will undermine the goals of the new law.

Many doctors have already closed their doors to Medicaid patients. Other providers are following suit. In June, Sharp Coronado Hospital in San Diego County stopped taking new patients at its facility providing long-term life support.

[murphyj87]

1. California has already ...

California has already passed a bill out of committee to create a universal single payer health care system of the kind that we have in Canada. A universal single payer health care system makes insurance, Medicare and Medicaid obsolete.

[Selatius]

2. The problem is raising funds to support such a program.

I believe California law requires a two thirds majority to raise taxes in that state. Therein lies the state's fiscal crisis.

[murphyj87]

3. So?

You think they'd rather pay over three times as much for insurance as they would for a single payer system? Single payer systems lower costs by 65% or more. With an insurance run health care system in the United States, a liver transplant costs over $450,000. With a single payer system in Canada, a liver transplant costs the government $125,000 and costs a Canadian $0 in out of pocket costs. Three Canadians with a single payer system can have a liver transplant for the cost of one liver transplant in the United States.

You think Californians would rather pay $18,000 a year for insurance than to pay $3600 a year more in taxes instead and pay $0 for insurance, 0$ for Medicare and 0$ for Medicaid?

The fact is that California and the entire United States cannot afford NOT to have a single payer system. Insurance-run health care costs over 3 times as much as a single payer system.

[Selatius]

4. Tell that to the Republicans.

I support single-payer and have for the longest time, but the simple fact is with the hurdle so high (a two-thirds majority to pass any tax hike), the Republicans in California have killed many good proposals for the fact that they won't vote with the Democrats to pass a tax to support whatever program is being debated. It's why California's public sector is being bled dry. The Republicans hold enough seats that they've essentially vetoed any tax hike to support public programs there.

[Creideiki]

5. Like most of the problems in the country,

this isn't a Republican vs. Democrat problem. It is a conservative vs. liberal/progressive problem. Whenever you find a problem, it's easier to just blame it on the conservatives.

[Selatius]

6. True, but more often than not, it only takes Republicans voting as a bloc to stop a bill in CA.

And if they can't block something by voting together, then they usually can get right-wing Democrats to split off and vote with them out in Cali. Then again, right-wing Democrats have become a problem elsewhere in this country.