Governor's healthcare plan appears doomed

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's yearlong effort to arrange medical insurance for nearly all Californians will be rejected by a state Senate panel this afternoon, according to people familiar with the decision.

The move would effectively kill one of the governor's most ambitious policy goals.

Senate President Don Perata (D-Oakland) made the decision after canvassing Democratic senators over the weekend and finding almost no support for the measure, which the Assembly passed last month.

The Democrats intend to hold the bill in the Senate Health Committee, a parliamentary maneuver that essentially kills it.

The $14.9-billion plan would require nearly all Californians to obtain insurance and would subsidize the premiums of those too poor to afford it.