Ideas Expressed at Four California Locations Will Provide Insight for Obama Administration on Health Reform

Today Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger joined Washington Governor Chris Gregoire and White House Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes in Los Angeles to host the fifth and last in a series of regional White House forums on health reform that have taken place across the country. The forums are part of the Obama Administration's national effort to gain insight and input on the President's own health care plan. In addition to the Los Angeles location, local forums were held in San Diego, Oakland and Clovis and connected to the Los Angeles forum via satellite. Participants represent a diverse group of Californians that include consumers, businesses, labor, patients, providers and insurers.

"The time to act is now because the American system of health care is falling far short of its mission - leaving millions of our fellow citizens in poor health and with inadequate care or no care at all," said Governor Schwarzenegger. "The whole country watched California as we worked hard to fix our broken health care system and create a model that the nation can follow. No one can look at our health care system and say that the system is fair or a good return on what we spend, and this consensus can help us pass significant bipartisan reforms into law. With President Obama, we are all partners in this effort and can make historic progress by focusing on the basics like controlling costs, providing coverage for all and enhancing the quality and delivery of care in this nation."

Governor Schwarzenegger has long been a leading voice and advocate in the drive for health care reform in California. In January 2007, the Governor made unprecedented strides in moving California toward an improved and more universal health care system. He brought together stakeholders from up and down the state and across the health care industry in support of his comprehensive reform proposal that would have provided coverage for all, enhanced prevention and wellness efforts, lowered the cost of care, and improved quality and transparency for purchasers and patients.

While the Governor's attempt at comprehensive health care reform was stalled, it did not stop his resolve to achieve it or his drive to pursue other major health care reforms to improve health care for Californians. In 2008, the Governor signed legislation to increase consumer protections by further limiting the unfair practice of "balance billing," an anti-consumer tactic that puts patients in the middle of payment disputes between health plans and health care providers. Also in 2008, he signed legislation that banned health care insurers from rewarding employees for canceling or limiting a patient's health insurance and prevented health plans from revoking an entire family's coverage due to the misinformation of a single family member.

The Governor's Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) reached agreements with all of California's major health plans last year where they agreed to reinstate coverage to California consumers whose health care coverage had been rescinded.