Lawmakers Must Answer Call To Pass Health Care Reform
"Given the current nastiness at the Capitol," a special legislative session to reach an agreement on health care reform "is probably a prudent move," a Sacramento Bee editorial states, cautioning that such a session "shouldn't be an excuse for delaying tough decisions."
The Bee commends Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and Democratic legislative leaders for appearing willing to compromise on the issue of a sales tax increase, as well as a requirement for individuals to obtain health insurance coverage.
The editorial concludes: "Now's the time for real reform. A united front is needed" (Sacramento Bee, 9/6).
Opinion Pieces
Summaries of opinion pieces regarding health care reform in California appear below.
- Bishop Stephen Blaire, Rabbi Alan Henkin, Sacramento Bee: "We believe that health care must be available to all, affordable to consumers, sustainable for society and designed to enhance health and well-being," Blaire, chair of the California Catholic Conference, and Henkin, regional director for the Western Region of the Union of Reform Judaism, write in a Bee opinion piece. "We urge all people of faith to engage in learning about our health care system, become knowledgeable advocates for the various options that legislators might adopt to reduce our health care system's inequities and to support legislators trying to find solutions," Blaire and Henkin write (Blaire/Henkin, Sacramento Bee, 9/6).
- Deborah Burger, Los Angeles Times: The Democrats' health care reform bill (AB 8) "reinforces and expands an insurance-based system -- the source of much of the present crisis -- thereby subverting reform for years to come," Burger, president of the California Nurses Association, writes in a Times opinion piece. "If the politicians in Sacramento are concerned about patient care, they will not now settle for a bad health care bill that will further degrade our health care safety net," Burger writes, concluding, "A bad health care bill is worse than no bill" (Burger, Los Angeles Times, 9/6).