Proposed Mandatory Health Care plan by Governor Schwarzenegger Essays

Proposed Mandatory Health Care plan by Governor Schwarzenegger Essays Proposed Mandatory Health Care plan by Governor Schwarzenegger Paper Proposed Mandatory Health Care plan by Governor Schwarzenegger Paper The main rationale for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposition of the health care plan is to make California’s healthcare system more â€Å"accessible, efficient, and affordable† (Moffit Owcharenko, 2007). This is brought about by what he considers a broken health care system of the state in which 6.5 million citizens of California (making up 20% of the state’s population) are uninsured (Office of the Governor, 2007a; MSNBC, 2007). He even stressed the current status of the state’s health care system by saying that it is â€Å"in desperate need of repair† (Office of the Governor, 2007a). It is also important to look at the present and past statistics when talking about this issue. Studies conducted in 2005 found that the rate of adults acquiring health insurance from their employers increased from 55.1 percent in 2003 to 56.2 percent in 2005 (Yoon, Brown, Lavarreda, Glenn, 2006). Aside from that, the rate of children not receiving insurance decreased from 11.3 percent in 2003 to 10. 7 percent in 2005 which is also lower than 14.8 percent in 2001 (Yoon, Brown, Lavarreda, Glenn, 2006). This decrease has been pointed to be the result of latest expansions in the enrollment of children in public insurance plans. Moreover, it has been found that most of the uninsured children are eligible for receiving public insurance programs yet most of them are not enrolled (Lavarreda, Brown, Yoon, Glenn, 2006). Particularly, the governor has specified the vital elements of the proposal: promotion of health, wellness, and prevention; affordable costs, and the program’s coverage of all citizens of California (Office of the Governor, 2007a). California would be the fifth and the largest state other than Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont to attempt universal health care plan (Steinhauer, 2007). Coverage of the plan The first part of the governor’s proposal is focused on prevention, health promotion, and wellness. It included the implementation of what has been termed the â€Å"Healthy Actions Incentives/Rewards† programs which rewards individuals who would participate in health oriented programs, behaviors, and practices. These rewards may include weight management courses and gym memberships. (Office of the Governor, 2007b) Due to the increasing cases of diabetes in California, it was decided that the universal health care plan also touch on the prevention and treatment of diabetes. The plan would include different intervention methods, screening, and other programs to reduce the number of citizens acquiring diabetes and to alleviate the current condition of diabetic patients (Office of the Governor, 2007b). Aside from focusing on diabetes problems of most Californians, this program would also focus on the increasing rates of obese individuals and tobacco users. In addition to this prevention plan, medical errors and infections acquired from medical practice is also a focus of the program. The universal health care plan would require the improvement of health care facilities and practices. It also involves focusing on the medical curriculum to make sure that patients are being handled properly and undergo safe medical interventions (Office of the Governor, 2007b). Schwarzenegger stressed that the universal health care plan would be for all Californians stating that â€Å"Everyone in California must have health insurance† (Steinhauer, 2007). This includes working and non-working individuals, adults and children. Accordingly, this plan of covering all citizens would cost an estimated $12 billion (Geis Lee, 2007). The term â€Å"everyone† implies that the plan also covers illegal immigrants in California. There has been an estimated one million illegal immigrants in the state out of the 6.5 million citizens (McKinley, 2007).