California Dreaming

Arnold-Care is apparently falling apart in California. Tax-payers and business owners can only pray that this is the case. From today’s Wall Street Journal opinion page…

“Once again, a state's universal health-care dreams have run up against fiscal realities. Besides the budget fight, the plan's viability was contingent on $3.7 billion in annual subsidies the Governor has been requesting to expand MediCal (Medicare) and "Healthy Families," part of the State Children's Health Insurance Program. This money is unlikely to materialize, given that the 2006 federal budget called for $4.6 billion in health-care cuts to California over the next decade.

The plan also ran into a buzzsaw because of the damage it would do to California's employment and insurance markets. In what's called "play or pay," businesses would have to cover their employees or pay a 3.5% payroll tax to fund a new state-run insurance program for low- income workers. Doctors would be required to pay 2% and hospitals 4% of gross revenues to fund the same -- assuming they could stay in practice at all.”

When will the politicians learn that after the warm and fuzzy pandering moments pass they have to face reality. Increasing government intervention into healthcare delivery can only lead to nightmares for patients, providers and the taxpaying public.