Middle class fears heavy burden By Troy Anderson Daily News Staff Writer (excerpt) Business and health care leaders said Wednesday that some health-related propositions on last week's ballot failed because they would have overburdened middle-income taxpayers.

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The propositions that passed included a bond measure to fund expansions of children's hospitals and another that raised the state's income tax by 1 percent on personal incomes above $1 million to fund mental health services.

Voters also passed a proposition to repeal a law that would have required employers with 50 or more employees to provide them health insurance. A proposition that increased phone taxes to pay for emergency room personnel failed.

"The propositions that passed (did so) because the perceived financial pain of the electorate was low," said James Barber, president and chief executive officer of the Hospital Association of Southern California.

"We have an issue of financing here. I don't think it's an issue of desirability, covering the uninsured and supporting emergency room departments and trauma centers.

"I think that's the lesson: We failed to deliver on something that wasn't crafted and engineered well enough to pass muster."

Barber made the comments during a downtown forum that drew more than 200 business leaders to learn about health care options for employers and to discuss what could be done to shore up the county's ailing health care system. A total of nine hospital emergency rooms in the county have closed or are scheduled to close this year.

"Health care is an issue that impacts each and every one of us, day in and day out," said George Kieffer, chairman of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored the event. "As employers, parents and children of the elderly, we all have a stake in making the current system work."

Board of Supervisors Chairman Don Knabe, co-sponsor of the forum, said it's incumbent upon the business community in Los Angeles County to set an example for the rest of the state by educating workers about the health care options available to them in the hope that the number of uninsured can be reduced.

California currently spends $112 billion annually on health care -- more than any other state spends.

"One of the major trends is rising health care costs, which is going at double-digit rates," said Glenn Melnick, a Rand health economist. "As a result, it will squeeze everyone's budgets. We spend about $1.5 trillion a year on health care. We're going to add another $1.5 trillion in new spending over the next eight years. So it's a big, big price tag." To read entire article click here
Source: Daily News.com