Health Care Reform ’07: Fixing Compromised Care with a Compromise Solution

by PETER HARBAGE & HILARY HAYCOCK

Health care has shaped up to be a major political issue this year in our nation’s capitol and in statehouses across the country. With a starring role in the presidential debates and Michael Moore’s most recent documentary, SiCKO, health care seems ready for reform.

In California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger dubbed 2007 the “year of health care reform.” The debate so far has been a roller coaster of political ups and downs. California’s Democratic legislative leaders have offered competing, then joint, proposals. Coalitions of unlikely bedfellows, including several labor, consumer, industry, and business groups, have formed both in support and opposition of reform. The state’s Capitol building has been host to many dueling news conferences seeking to shape the debate.

The question is whether California can overcome its partisan divisions and stakeholder selfmotivation to find a compromise and achieve universal coverage. If reform passes, California can be a major force in moving reform forward nationally.

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