Los Angeles Times Editorial Addresses Problems Facing Health Care System
The "crisis that dwarfs all others" with regard to the emergency care system "is the huge number of people with no medical insurance," a Los Angeles Times editorial states, adding that Los Angeles County is the "epicenter of the uninsured crisis" in the United States. According to the Times, hospitals and emergency departments in the county have continued to close even after voters in 2002 approved a property tax increase that raises about $170 million a year to fund ED care in the county. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) decision to postpone a plan to restructure Medi-Cal is "good news" because it shows that the governor "has not yet settled for an easy smoke-and-mirrors fix" to problems facing the state health care system. "The test will be whether he's willing to use his immense popularity to work with state legislators and the federal government to forge a tough but true solution, one that would increase the rolls of the insured and by doing so preserve the emergency system for all," the Times concludes (Los Angeles Times, 8/27).
This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.