SACRAMENTO CALIF. —Fearing the devil in the details, operators of restaurants throughout California are gearing up for a long battle over the universal-health-care reform plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed as a model for other states.
Introduced early this month, Schwarzenegger’s plan carries a price tag of $12 billion and would require that all Californians—including illegal residents—obtain medical insurance, with the costs shared by individuals, employers, state and federal governments, insurers, doctors, and hospitals. —Fearing the devil in the details, operators of restaurants throughout California are gearing up for a long battle over the universal-health-care reform plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed as a model for other states.
Under the plan, insurance companies would be required to accept all applicants, regardless of age or pre-existing medical conditions. An estimated 6.5 million state residents, or one-fifth of California’s population, currently have no health insurance, in part because insurers have been allowed to “pick and choose” who they cover, Schwarzenegger said. —Fearing the devil in the details, operators of restaurants throughout California are gearing up for a long battle over the universal-health-care reform plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed as a model for other states.
Last year, Massachusetts became the first state to adopt legislation mandating health insurance for all residents, but lawmakers approved the bill there before ironing out many details. That state’s reform effort is still considered to be in a formative stage. —Fearing the devil in the details, operators of restaurants throughout California are gearing up for a long battle over the universal-health-care reform plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed as a model for other states.
Other states, including New York, New Jersey and Colorado, are expected to grapple with health care reform this year as well. But observers predict that California could set the stage for comprehensive change. —Fearing the devil in the details, operators of restaurants throughout California are gearing up for a long battle over the universal-health-care reform plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed as a model for other states.
For restaurant operators, however, Schwarzenegger’s philosophy of “shared responsibility, shared benefit” leaves many questions unanswered. —Fearing the devil in the details, operators of restaurants throughout California are gearing up for a long battle over the universal-health-care reform plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed as a model for other states.
The proposal by the Republican former restaurateur would, for example, require employers of more than 10 people to either offer insurance or pay an “in-lieu fee” of 4 percent of their payroll into a state fund that would subsidize individuals’ policy purchases. —Fearing the devil in the details, operators of restaurants throughout California are gearing up for a long battle over the universal-health-care reform plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed as a model for other states.
“They’re calling it a fee,” said Jot Condie, president and chief executive of the California Restaurant Association. “They may not want to call it a tax, but that’s what it is. It’s a tax. The governor is going to face an uphill battle on this.” —Fearing the devil in the details, operators of restaurants throughout California are gearing up for a long battle over the universal-health-care reform plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed as a model for other states.
In 2004, the restaurant industry rallied to defeat a ballot initiative that would have required companies with more than 50 employees to offer health coverage and to pay most of the premiums. —Fearing the devil in the details, operators of restaurants throughout California are gearing up for a long battle over the universal-health-care reform plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed as a model for other states.
This year, Condie said, the association was expecting to see health care bills proposed that would require some financial support from the business community. But the question remained, he said, whether the cost of health care reform would be fairly distributed. —Fearing the devil in the details, operators of restaurants throughout California are gearing up for a long battle over the universal-health-care reform plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed as a model for other states.
The governor’s plan calls for an increase in federal funding of about $7 billion. Of the $5 billion in costs remaining, employers would contribute about $1 billion. —Fearing the devil in the details, operators of restaurants throughout California are gearing up for a long battle over the universal-health-care reform plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed as a model for other states.
Another $3.5 billion would be generated by a 2-percent tax on doctors and a 4-percent tax on hospitals. However, the plan would also direct millions of dollars in new money to doctors and hospitals that in the past had been forced to absorb the costs of health care for the uninsured. “There is no such benefit for small business,” Condie said. —Fearing the devil in the details, operators of restaurants throughout California are gearing up for a long battle over the universal-health-care reform plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed as a model for other states.
Many workers in the restaurant industry—which is California’s largest private employer—are young and decline health insurance even when it is offered. Condie said the Schwarzenegger plan is not clear about whether or how workers who decline coverage would be penalized. —Fearing the devil in the details, operators of restaurants throughout California are gearing up for a long battle over the universal-health-care reform plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed as a model for other states.
Under the plan, employers who currently offer health benefits, and pay more than 4 percent of their payroll to do so, might be tempted to drop coverage and pay into the state fund instead. As a result, workers could end up with policies that offer less-comprehensive coverage, Condie predicted. —Fearing the devil in the details, operators of restaurants throughout California are gearing up for a long battle over the universal-health-care reform plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed as a model for other states.
Still, observers say there will likely be much debate and reshaping of this and other health care reform plans in the coming year. —Fearing the devil in the details, operators of restaurants throughout California are gearing up for a long battle over the universal-health-care reform plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed as a model for other states.
State Sen. Sheila Kuehl, for example, a Democrat who leads the Senate’s health committee, has indicated that she plans to re-introduce another version of her universal health plan, which would also provide for insurance coverage for all Californians. Kuehl’s Senate Bill 840 was approved by the Legislature last year but was vetoed by the governor. —Fearing the devil in the details, operators of restaurants throughout California are gearing up for a long battle over the universal-health-care reform plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed as a model for other states.
If the California Restaurant Association’s membership does not approve of whatever legislation finally emerges, the association would take steps to offer an alternative to voters through a referendum in 2008, Condie said. —Fearing the devil in the details, operators of restaurants throughout California are gearing up for a long battle over the universal-health-care reform plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed as a model for other states.
The issue is not whether more Californians should have affordable coverage, but how that should happen, said restaurateur and CRA chairman Jeff King, co-founder of the multiconcept King’s Seafood Co., based in Costa Mesa, Calif. —Fearing the devil in the details, operators of restaurants throughout California are gearing up for a long battle over the universal-health-care reform plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed as a model for other states.
“Who could be against health insurance? It’s like mom and apple pie,” King said. “The issue is who is going to pay for it.” The governor’s plan, he added, “is not a slam dunk. There are a lot of questions.” —Fearing the devil in the details, operators of restaurants throughout California are gearing up for a long battle over the universal-health-care reform plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed as a model for other states.
Michael Osborn, former CRA chairman and owner of the Pie ‘N’ Burger restaurant in Pasadena, said Schwarzenegger’s plan does not address cost containment. —Fearing the devil in the details, operators of restaurants throughout California are gearing up for a long battle over the universal-health-care reform plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed as a model for other states.
Premiums for Osborn’s personal health insurance, for example, increased from about $500 per month three years ago to about $800 per month, without any increase in coverage, he said. —Fearing the devil in the details, operators of restaurants throughout California are gearing up for a long battle over the universal-health-care reform plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed as a model for other states.
Osborn once offered health insurance to his employees as a benefit, but the cost of coverage for his company went up about 600 percent after one worker fell very ill. “I had to drop it,” he said. —Fearing the devil in the details, operators of restaurants throughout California are gearing up for a long battle over the universal-health-care reform plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed as a model for other states.
Ted Burke, co-owner of the Shadowbrook restaurant in Capitola, Calif., and the Crow’s Nest in neighboring Santa Cruz, said his company offers health benefits and pays about 50 percent of the premiums. But only about 30 percent of the two restaurants’ 325 employees take the coverage, and the remaining 70 percent either opt out or are not eligible. —Fearing the devil in the details, operators of restaurants throughout California are gearing up for a long battle over the universal-health-care reform plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed as a model for other states.
“If we had to insure 100 percent of our employees, we’d be out of business,” Burke said. —Fearing the devil in the details, operators of restaurants throughout California are gearing up for a long battle over the universal-health-care reform plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed as a model for other states.