Elected Politicians and Judges Fail the People, Again

Schwarzenegger eyes health coverage for Calif. kids
By Lisa Baertlein
Fri Jan 5, 8:15 AM ET

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to propose extending health care to the 10 percent of California children who are uninsured, even if they are in the state illegally, and to require employers to bolster adult coverage, health advocates said on Thursday.
"Everything we're hearing is that the governor will propose health care coverage for all kids," said Jim Keddy, executive director of PICO California Project, one of many groups advocating health coverage for children.
A Schwarzenegger spokeswoman declined to provide details. "Nothing is final at this point. Everything is on the table," she said.
There were 763,000 uninsured children in California in 2005, according to the California Health Interview Survey.
Of those, about 400,000 are ineligible for public health programs because they are undocumented or their families exceed maximum income limits. About 6.5 million Californians, or one in five residents, are uninsured.
In 2005, California's Republican governor vetoed legislation that would have expanded coverage to every child in the state, saying lawmakers had not provided a way to fund it.
Last year, Schwarzenegger and Democratic lawmakers supported a budget bill that would have earmarked money for such efforts, but they were forced to remove the provision after Republicans balked over funding the health care of illegal immigrant children.
Schwarzenegger is set to unveil the major objectives of his second term in a series of speeches in coming days.
He speaks at his inauguration on Friday, details his health care ideas on Monday, gives his annual state-of-the-state address on Tuesday and unveils his new fiscal year budget proposal on Wednesday.
About 90 percent of the state's children are now covered, and children's health coverage is inexpensive compared to adult coverage. The federal government also kicks in a substantial portion of funding for state-run health programs for children.
A handful of states, including Illinois, Maine and New Jersey, cover all children through state programs. On Thursday, New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer said he plans to propose a budget that would guarantee all of New York's 500,000 uninsured children access to health insurance.
Dr. Bob Ross, chief executive of the California Endowment, predicted states like California, New York and Illinois "will help frame the debate for the nation."
The cost of providing health coverage to all California children has been estimated at around $400 million a year.
"It has huge public support and there's very little controversy around it," said Keddy.
Schwarzenegger, a former action film star nursing a broken leg from a holiday skiing accident, is also expected to announce a plan to cover more of the state's uninsured by requiring employers to help pay for insurance. Some estimates put the cost of such a program at $10 billion a year.
Ruth Liu, associate secretary of health care policy development for California's Health and Human Services Agency, told Reuters Schwarzenegger's health-care reform plan would require all employers to give workers the choice of making pre-tax health insurance contributions.

Like Prop. 187 in 1994 being voted on by millions on Californians and ultimately overturned by a Liberal 9th Circuit judge, Mariana Pfaelzer, and not pursued by the ousted Governor Gray Davis.

Arnold is attempting to give illegals health care at the expense of citizens. He is just another Liberal in Republican clothing.