EPI Statement on Governor Schwarzenegger’s Health Care Reform Bill

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  • Publication Date: October 2007

  • Topics: Health Care

WASHINGTON –This afternoon Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger held a press conference announcing the developments in his special session with the state legislature aimed at producing reforms to California’s health care system. A spokesperson from the Employment Policies Institute issued the following statement:

“Foisting insurance costs onto employers will not solve California’s health care crisis,” said Jill Jenkins, senior economist at the Employment Policies Institute. “An additional payroll tax on businesses not offering ‘sufficient’ health coverage will reduce jobs and eat away at wages while doing little to address the problem of the uninsured. Economic research confirms that these adverse effects would fall hardest on low-skilled employees.”

Jenkins continued: “The ‘reforms’ endorsed today would not address the main reason why there are still 6.1 million uninsured Californians: the ever-increasing price of health insurance. The best way to help the uninsured is to slash the 50-odd mandates currently inflating the cost of ‘basic’ insurance plans in The Golden State.”