Dueling health-care plans came closer together this week in Sacramento as lawmakers prepare for a special legislative session later this month.

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That's the good news. The bad news is that they are still both so flawed.
The worse news is that both the plan proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the one by Democratic Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez are far from solving California's health-care problem.

Worse still: Republicans are opposing both plans.

The governor and Democrats are saluting one another on their willingness to compromise over a health-care plan. Give both sides this: They are serious about finding common ground and presenting a plan to voters.

We are especially impressed with the determination of the governor to adopt health-care reform.

This week, Nunez compromised on the proposal Schwarzenegger had previously vetoed by lowering the amount that employers would pay for their workers' health-care coverage and making coverage mandatory. The Democrats also adopted the governor's plan to tax cigarettes at a rate of $2 a pack to raise the money for health-care reform. Democrats also increased the number of people who would be eligible for free health insurance coverage. Families earning less than 300 percent of the federal poverty level — $62,000 for a family of four — would be eligible for free or very low-cost coverage.

Those compromises fulfilled two of the provisions for health-care reform that Schwarzenegger has said are a must: universal coverage and mandatory insurance.

Because Republicans have adamantly stated they will vote against this proposal, it will need to go to the voters. If the governor and the Democrats can come up with a compromise in the special session that will vote on the proposal later this month, it could qualify for the November 2008 ballot.

Unfortunately, there is too much not to like in this compromise proposal: It does nothing to control costs. It will fall short of universal coverage.

It puts too much of a burden on employers. It is probably too expensive. Funding it with cigarette tax money practically guarantees that funding will gradually evaporate and somebody else will end up picking up the tab.

We still prefer a plan that is closer to Senate Bill 840, the California Health Insurance Reform Act, sponsored by Sheila Kuehl. Schwarzenegger has vetoed that bill, too. But it is waiting in the wings for when other compromises fail.

SB840 has an advantage over other plans by eliminating the system of private insurance that now exists, thus saving billions of dollars on administrative costs.

SB840 will also save money by buying drugs and equipment in bulk. It is the only proposal that would actually cost less money than what Californians are spending now and still cover everybody in the state.

The likely product of the compromises by the governor and the Democrats in the Legislature will end with a proposal that will be rejected by voters.

Having a health-care insurance reform plan on the November ballot, when voters will also be choosing among candidates for president in campaign that will concentrate on health-care reform, is likely to overwhelm voters. Overwhelmed voters tend to vote no.

At this point, the compromise health-care plan is opposed by labor, by business and by hospitals (who would be taxed to pay for part of this).

It will face an uphill battle at the polls.

We understand the urgency of the governor to adopt health-care reform he can support: It could be his legacy as governor.

But he also needs to get it right and get a plan that has consensus support. Rather than try to cobble together a bad plan in a special session, governor and legislators ought to be patient and develop a plan with wider support, including Republicans.

And they should all take another look at SB840 and see how they can make it work.

Visalia Times