San Joaquin County Weighs Health Reform Proposals
The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a series of guidelines that detail how proposals to overhaul California's health care system could benefit county residents, the Stockton Record reports.
County health officials prepared the guidelines in response to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) unveiling earlier this year of a plan to expand health care coverage to all residents.
The list will be given to the county's lobbyist in Sacramento, where lawmakers continue to debate health care reform proposals.
The guidelines are divided into eight categories specifying how universal coverage or other reforms should be established, financed and operated to benefit local patients.
The suggestions include:
- Any mandatory health insurance costs should be affordable for residents;
- Local governments should not bear the financial burden of expanded health coverage;
- Mentally ill patients or those suffering from addiction and social problems should receive coverage that is equivalent to coverage for other illnesses;
- Jail inmates and people in the custody of the Sheriff's Office or county probation should be covered; and
- Public hospitals should play a large role in accepting new patients (Kane, Stockton Record, 7/11).