A state senate committee soundly defeated a move to advance a proposal for healthcare reform to the state's senate for a full vote.
The Senate Health Committee voted 10-1 to halt the progress of Assembly Bill 1X1. Because of the timelines involved in enacting the bill, which included a public referendum on required tax increases, observers say it's unlikely the bill will surface in the state this year.
The state's assembly passed the bill in late December after a compromise was hammered out between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and assembly leaders.
In recent weeks, the dire situation of the state's economy and its own budgetary woes, including an estimated $14.5 billion deficit for the current fiscal year, weakened support. A recent study by a legislative analyst suggested that revenue anticipated for the proposal would not cover costs, and several risk factors could cause it to be much more costly than anticipated.
In the senate committee, only one of seven Democrats supported the bill, and all four Republicans opposed it. Even Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland), a co-author of the reform measure, came out against the bill.
The bill would have provided insurance to about 70 percent of California's uninsured population. Employers would pay a percentage of payroll into an insurance pool, while other sources of funding would include a tobacco tax and hospital tax.
A statement issued by Schwarzenegger indicated he would continue to seek healthcare reform in California.
"Despite the senate's rejection of our comprehensive healthcare reform bill, I want the people of California to know I will not give up trying to fix our broken healthcare system," a statement issued by Schwarzenegger's office said. "The issue is too important and the crisis is too serious to walk away after all the great progress we have made. The problems will not disappear. In fact, they are likely to get worse."
"I am someone who does not give up, especially when there is a problem as big and as serious as healthcare that needs to be fixed. One setback is just that - a setback. I still believe comprehensive healthcare reform is needed in California. We will keep moving forward. I can promise you that."
State medical groups weighed in after the vote.
Calling the Senate Health Committee's 'No' vote a move that "leaves millions of Californians outside the healthcare system without essential care," California Academy of Family Physicians President Carla Kakutani, MD, said her organization will continue working on behalf of patients "in the Legislature as well as our medical offices to be sure all Californians have access to the care they need."
She said the vote will leave millions in the state lacking access to essential care.