DAVIS: Turns to ‘Tough Issue’ of Health Reform
With education reform out of the way, Gov. Gray Davis said yesterday he will shift his focus to health care reform, among other issues. At a lunch with reporters "to burnish his image and outline his plan as he nears his 100th day in office, a traditional time for assessing a new administration," Davis predicted an impending "train wreck" in the health care industry as doctors lose control of medical decisions and health plans lose huge sums of money. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Davis "offered no specific proposals" for changing the way the state regulates HMOs and other health plans, "but warned that the state should not regulate too closely." He said, "I don't think it's appropriate to sit up here and practice medicine. I did not go to medical school. And not too many members of the Legislature did, either." According to health lobbyists, about 140 health-related bills have been introduced this legislative session, even as many HMOs and health plans plunge into financial instability (Gunnison/Marinucci, 3/24).
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