Five Reasons Why California's Healthcare Reform is a Sham

OAKLAND, Calif. -- After a year false starts and rejections, Governor Schwarzenegger and state legislative leaders have produced a bill that they claim will provide healthcare for all Californians, ABX1-1. This bill has been heralded as groundbreaking, comprehensive healthcare reform. Now that the bill awaits approval by the State Senate and funding from California voters via a ballot initiative, advocates of the bill are putting on a full court press. State leaders, long-time health advocates and pundits tell us that it’s now or never, when it comes to making healthcare reform happen. With a $14 billion state budget deficit shadowing the effort, communities of color are being told to get on board and ignore concerns about how the policy will actually affect them. But with people of color making up 75 percent of the state’s uninsured, the question that should be posed is: Is this a savior or a sham? For at least five good reasons, I fear that it is the latter.

1. The universal coverage in ABX1-1 may not include you. The bill’s authors claim that ABX1-1 covers $3.7 million uninsured Californians. What we know for sure is that if you are not a full time worker you are not covered. If you are an undocumented immigrant you are not covered. And if you are too poor to afford the (unregulated) premiums and don’t qualify for “hardship” consideration, then you have the “right to be uninsured.” Guess who that will be?

Read More