THE RUSH TO HEALTHCARE REFORM
Rick Coburn, GGAHU Legislative Chair

Each year, several hundred CAHU members convene in Sacramento to lobby our local legislative representatives for or against legislative measures moving through the legislative process. We knew in March that this could be a particularly tough year, when not only Governor Schwarzenegger but Assembly Speaker Fabio Nunez and Senate President Pro-tem Don Perata announced their health care reform plans. Since then, Senator Perata and Assemblyman Nunez have fleshed out their proposals.

The Perata and Nunez bills have a lot of momentum in both Houses and it is almost a certainty that both bills will be passed by their respective Houses and wind up in conference committee to iron out differences between them. While the Governor does not have any specific legislation supporting his viewpoint, it seems that he is waiting for the legislative branch to coalesce around a set of ideas - then he will make it clear what elements are acceptable to the executive branch.

Both Peralta’s and Nunez’ plans have provisions that are detrimental to the interests of our association and our clients. Three of the most important provisions are...