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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 2007)
Unveiled in California on Jan. 8 AFL-CIO, nurses union slam Schwarzenegger health plan OAKLAND, Calif. (PAI) — The California AFL-CIO and the state’s top nurses union — which led the success- ful drive against Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s anti-union referenda two years ago — blasted a health care reform plan “The Termina- tor” unveiled Jan. 8. The governor’s plan has “the same gaping holes” that a Massachusetts plan enacted last year by then-Gov. Mitt Romney (R), has, said California Nurses Association President Deborah Burger. She called Schwarzenegger’s plan “little more than a fresh coat of paint on a collapsing house.” California AFL-CIO Secretary-Trea- surer Art Pulaski was even more caus- tic, calling the governor’s plan one “that Wal-Mart would love and Wal-Mart workers would hate. “This will be a boon to insurance companies, but a bust for most work- ers,” he continued. The plan requires all Californians to buy health insurance — just as drivers must carry auto insurance — with no guarantee that it will be affordable or that coverage will be adequate. Pulaski said Schwarzenegger’s plan creates an incentive for employers who currently provide health care to drop coverage and instead pay only a mini- mal tax. “The proposed employer con- tribution is so low that even Wal-Mart, a corporation known for its minimal em- ployee health care coverage, already ex- ceeds the requirements,” he added. The governor’s plan would require all Californians, including the more than 7 million who are uninsured, to buy health care coverage, just as Mass- achusetts’ new law does. Schwarzenegger also would require all businesses to offer health care cover- Cancer caused by asbestos exposure • Shipyards* • Refineries • Steel and Paper Mills • Powerhouses • Construction • Home Remodel • Brake Repair • Railroads *32% of 3,000 Americans diagnosed every year with Mesothelioma were exposed during Navy service or working in Navy shipyards. Find out more by calling: Since 2000, Roger G. Worthington, P.C. has donated over $2,500,000 towards medical research into finding a cure for mesothelioma. See: www.phlbi.org Offices in Los Angeles, Orange County and Dallas, Texas. Lawyers licensed in California, Oregon and Texas. NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS the costs and risk from the insurers to individuals.” Burger said that won’t work for mil- lions of Californians, and is a huge gift to the insurance industry. “What we don’t see is any discussion of what type of health coverage people will buy,” she said. “There are no limits on skyrocket- ing health premiums, no requirements on what will be included in the required plans, and a new call to deregulate ex- isting public protections.” U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) in- troduced a similar coverage-for-all plan, working through private insurers but with standards set by states and insur- ance bought by individuals. Service Employees President Andy Stern — whose union represents more health care workers than any other union — supports Wyden’s plan. But Wyden’s plan has been criticized for no controls on premiums and for keeping the role of the insurers. Schwarzenegger’s plan could leave many people in the nation’s largest state with health coverage that covers little and costs a lot, Burger said. “Many Californians will end up with cut-rate plans that discourage people from using their health coverage, have huge out-of-pocket costs, and expose them to financial ruin in the event of a serious illness or accident,” she con- cluded. ...No cost containment in Wyden’s health care plan (From Page 1) For information on treatment options, settlements and verdicts, asbestos products and patient profiles, please visit www.mesothel.com PAGE 4 age and mandate that insurers cover people with pre-existing medical con- ditions. Health insurers now routinely reject covering people with pre-existing conditions, forcing them into expensive emergency room care or no care at all. Schwarzenegger’s plan is part of a bipartisan nationwide trend where states fed up with federal gridlock and inac- tion on health care are trying to come up with ways to make sure all of their residents are covered. Illinois, Oregon and Minnesota are among states work- ing on expanding coverage. Instead of trying the fix Schwarz- enegger proposed, Burger said the state should enact a single-payer govern- ment-run health care system, eliminat- ing private insurers entirely. That would also eliminate their pocketing of premi- ums and denial of care. The Democratic-controlled State Legislature approved a single-payer plan last year, but Schwarzenegger ve- toed it. Then the insurers poured mil- lions of dollars into their successful campaign against a California Nurses Association-backed ballot initiative to enact single-payer. CNA’s Burger said mandating cov- erage for all — without discussing costs — isn’t enough. The biggest problem, she said, is that the governor would “criminalize the uninsured by forcing them to buy insurance, a plan that shifts to seven years). But after that, em- ployers would be off the hook, except that they would contribute from 2 to 25 percent of the cost of their employ- ees’ individual premiums, depending on the size of the business. About 10 million people are currently covered by joint union-management health trusts. Wyden’s bill doesn’t specify what would happen to the billions of dollars in assets held by labor-man- agement health trusts. Wyden told the NW Labor Press his proposal has benefits for unions. He said he wants union negotiators to come away from the bargaining table with increased wages and pension contributions — instead of the situa- tion now, where everything gets gob- bled up by increased health care costs. Also, under the Wyden proposal, no longer would some employers con- tribute to health costs while others shirk; under the Wyden plan all em- ployers would contribute a small frac- tion of the cost on a sliding scale. Businesses with fewer than 50 em- ployees would pay 2 percent. Busi- nesses with 200 employees would pay 17 percent. Individuals’ health insurance con- tributions would be deducted from wages by employers, and along with employer contributions,would go to the federal treasury, which would then pay the insurers. Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom Chamberlain said he commends Wyden for stepping up to the plate with a proposal. But he, and others, questioned how viable Wyden’s sys- tem would be without measures to contain costs. Wyden said costs would be re- strained because individuals would be better shoppers and it would be easier to compare policies. State clearing- houses would provide information to help people decide which health plan to buy, and insurance companies would be required to charge the same price to all, without regard to age, race, occupation, pre-existing health condition or genetic predisposition. Wyden’s proposal is similar to one proposed for the state of California by Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger that would require all uninsured residents to purchase health insurance (see article above). Under Schwarzenegger’s proposal, employ- ers with 10 or more employees who do not provide health insurance for their workers will be required to pay into a state health care fund. JANUARY 19, 2007
