Uninsured Unaccounted for in Governor’s 11th-hour Reforms

In an 11th-hour attempt to salvage something from "The Year of Health Care Reform," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) administration this week turned up the heat on several proposals aimed largely at the health insurance industry and health care providers.

The Republican governor is backing 15 proposals, many of them stemming from his comprehensive reform package rejected earlier this year.

Conspicuously absent in the governor's proposals is any attempt to expand coverage to the 6.7 million Californians without health insurance. Covering the uninsured was a major theme of the broader reform package.

Daniel Zingale, senior adviser to Schwarzenegger, characterized the push as "the first phase of health care reform. In my view, it's more than half of the reform because it affects the 20 million people who have health insurance."

Some of the 15 proposals are making their way through the Legislature, but others still are only a gleam in the governor's eye, looking for a lawmaker to introduce them as legislation.

Time is running out. The legislative session ends in two weeks.

In the meantime, California legislators continue to work their way through stacks of bills. Here's a look at some recent action.