The Defeat of California's Employer Mandate
Other changes in health care may be sought
By Barbara Feder Ostrov
The Mercury News - Nov. 4, 2004
These comments are in response to the relatively narrow defeat of Proposition 72, California’s play or pay employer mandate.
Any “son of Proposition 72” proposals would need to incorporate cost controls and ease the financial burden on smaller businesses, said Rick Brown, who heads the University of California-Los Angeles Center for Health Policy Research.
“Everybody knows that the one option we don’t have is the status quo,” said Anthony Wright, executive director of the advocacy group Health Access. “The health care system is unraveling. People see it every time an employer scales back and drops coverage, every time an emergency room closes.”
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/health/10096491.htm
Comment: The majority of voters are healthy and they have insurance coverage. They are concerned about health care costs, but they are even more concerned about disruption of their current perceived health security. Our message to them will have to be crafted to show them that we can provide significantly greater financial and health security. Let’s work on it.