SACRAMENTO — In anticipation of tough talks next year with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on how to extend health insurance to more Californians, the state Assembly leader on Thursday proposed requiring all but the smallest businesses to help pay for their workers' insurance.
The plan from Speaker Fabian Nunez, a Los Angeles Democrat, comes a week after the Democratic leader of the state Senate announced a similar proposal and days ahead of one expected from the Republican governor.
It's not clear whose ideas will prevail, but all have vowed to find a way to expand the safety net of insurance under Californians who face enormous costs in the event of serious injury or illness.
To reach the estimated 6 million residents who lack health insurance, Nunez proposed building on an existing system -- 71% of California employers already offer health insurance benefits. Experts say most of the state's uninsured work low-wage jobs.
"We don't want to fix something that's not broken," Nunez said.
In the past, Nunez has endorsed replacement of the state's patchwork of private and public insurers with a single state-run insurer who would cover every California resident. But in a news conference at UC Davis Children's Hospital in Sacramento, Nunez called such a plan "something the governor will never support."
He said he and the governor found "a lot of common ground" in recent talks.
Schwarzenegger hailed the speaker's endeavor in generic terms, much as he did the proposal last week by Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) to require all employers and workers to share health insurance costs.
"We all agree -- the current system is broken and needs to be fixed," Schwarzenegger said. "I will release my plans in the new year and with the same bipartisan spirit we worked in last year. I know that meaningful healthcare reform can be achieved."
Both legislative leaders embraced the concept of requiring employers to either provide health insurance to workers or pay a percentage of payroll to a state agency that would negotiate coverage.
But unlike Perata, Nunez would not require all Californians to prove they have health insurance when they pay taxes. And while Perata's plan would apply to all employers, Nunez's would exclude businesses with a payroll of less than $100,000 and those with a single employee.
