CALIFORNIA STATE LEGISLATIVE

California Legislative Health Bill



California Legislative Health Bill

Overview of the health problem

Improving the health of the population is the goal of the ministry or department of health in almost every nation. However, this paper discusses the health care bill of California Legislature. Specifically, this paper is analyzing the act about the health care policies of employees in California. In recent years, policy debates about how to achieve this goal has been expanded that include the issues of necessary public health functions or services as the foundation to achieve better health policies for public (web.mhanet.com). The health policy makers have understood that without an appropriate infrastructure, as required to provide these services, none of the healthcare authorities may move efficiently towards the improvement of health for everyone. Moreover, the needs of a city, region or a nation will change over time. The presence of a well-developed network of functions and essential public health services allows flexibility and growth of programming over the years. The following paper discusses the healthcare legislative bill that deals with policies of healthcare regarding employees of California and their affordability.

Severity of the health problem

Home to more than 35 million residents, California's size, income diversity, and large multicultural population set it apart from all other states in the nation. Each of these factors affects the health care financing and delivery systems in the state. Since 2001, California state officials have confronted annual gaps between revenues and spending in each budget that have consistently been the largest in the nation both in dollar terms and in percent of overall budget. The estimated budget shortfall for FY 2006 is at about 10 percent of general fund spending (Masi, 2009).

California has more people living in poverty than the national average (19% compared with 17% nationally). Minorities represent over half of California's population and non-citizens account for one out of every six people. Nearly 29 million Californians had some form of public or private health insurance coverage in 2003, while over 6.4 million remain uninsured. The big expansion will start in 2014. When complete, 95% of Californians who qualify for coverage will have it, compared to 83% today. Nearly everyone will be insured or pay a fine, which comes into force in 2014. There is an exemption for the poor. Insurance market reforms, beginning this year, insurers may not set monetary limits for life insurance or deny coverage to children because of preexisting conditions or cancel policies because someone gets sick.

Parents can support their children in their insurance plan until age 26. Until 2014, when the plan is fully implemented, there will be a high-risk coverage for the sick and uninsured. Adults without children will be covered for the first time since 2014. The Federal Government will pay 100% of the costs of securing new individuals until 2016. To compensate for lost revenue, the law applies a higher payroll tax for Medicare to investment income and wages. Affects individuals earning more than $ ...