HEALTH CARE DIFFERENT THINGS TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE PLAN'S IMPACT LIKELY TO DEPEND ON FINANCIAL NEED.Byline: MIKE ZAPLER MediaNews Sacramento Bureau SACRAMENTO -- Universal health care. The term, tossed around with ease by politicians looking to remake re·make tr.v. re·made , re·mak·ing, re·makes To make again or anew. n. 1. The act of remaking. 2. Something in remade form, especially a new version of an earlier movie or song. the state's medical system, can conjure up conjure up Verb 1. to create an image in the mind: the name Versailles conjures up a past of sumptuous grandeur 2. images of major upheaval. But if Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German pronunciation (IPA): [ˈaɐ̯nɔlt ˈaloɪ̯s ˈʃvaɐ̯ʦənˌʔɛɡɐ] and Democratic lawmakers succeed in extending coverage to everyone, experts say the ways that people could be affected are far from universal. People in well-paid, skilled jobs with generous health plans probably wouldn't notice much difference -- at least initially. Their employers typically offer good benefits to compete for talent, and no health reform plan is likely to change that. But for workers in retail and other low-paying service industries, and for millions of others anxious about losing their insurance and being unable to buy it on their own, any health care plan that emerges out of this fall's special legislative session could bring big change. "The impact will certainly vary depending on a person's circumstances CIRCUMSTANCES, evidence. The particulars which accompany a fact. 2. The facts proved are either possible or impossible, ordinary and probable, or extraordinary and improbable, recent or ancient; they may have happened near us, or afar off; they are public or ," said Marian Mulkey, a senior program officer at the California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). Healthcare Foundation in Oakland. "Because both of these reform proposals build on the existing patchwork system of employer-based coverage and public programs, there are a number of different paths that people would experience." In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently , lawmakers want to expand, not scrap, how people currently get insurance -- through work, government programs, and on their own in the private market. Here are a few scenarios that help explain how the health plans could affect people in different circumstances: Employed, but underpaid un·der·paid v. Past tense and past participle of underpay. underpaid Adjective not paid as much as the job deserves underpaid adj → and uninsured Consider a waiter making $27,000 who's uninsured, either by choice or because his employer doesn't provide insurance. Under Schwarzenegger's plan, the waiter could find himself having to buy insurance on his own, without a government subsidy subsidy, financial assistance granted by a government or philanthropic foundation to a person or association for the purpose of promoting an enterprise considered beneficial to the public welfare. . (Only people earning less than $25,525 would qualify for government help under his plan, a threshold Democrats say is too low.) The Democratic health plan would put that person in a better spot. Either his employer would have to start offering insurance, or he could buy benefits through a state pool, paying no more than $1,350 a year. Highly skilled and well-paid At the other end of the spectrum, an engineer making $90,000 plus benefits probably wouldn't experience anything fundamentally new. But if she's had to pay a bigger share of her premium because of spiraling health care costs, that trend may well continue. The governor and Democrats may also ask voters to increase the statewide sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. -- which now stands at 7.25 percent -- to help pay for universal care. That would raise the price of cars, TVs, groceries gro·cer·y n. pl. gro·cer·ies 1. A store selling foodstuffs and various household supplies. 2. groceries Commodities sold by a grocer. and other goods purchased by the wealthy and poor alike. The muddled mud·dle v. mud·dled, mud·dling, mud·dles v.tr. 1. To make turbid or muddy. 2. To mix confusedly; jumble. 3. To confuse or befuddle (the mind), as with alcohol. middle The fates of those in midwage jobs, working for companies that are scaling back health benefits and shifting costs to workers could be most in flux flux In metallurgy, any substance introduced in the smelting of ores to promote fluidity and to remove objectionable impurities in the form of slag. Limestone is commonly used for this purpose in smelting iron ores. . Both reform plans give employers a tempting offer: Stop offering coverage, and instead pay a percentage of their payroll to the state. Either plan could save companies money by dropping their coverage. The governor would charge them 4 percent of payroll, the Democrats 7.5 percent. Many businesses spend upward of more than; above. See also: Upward 10 percent on health coverage now. It's tough to assess the impact on workers whose employers decided to drop coverage. Under the Democratic plan, those who make less than $30,630 -- $61,950 for a family of four -- would qualify for health insurance subsidies. Everyone else would be able to buy insurance through a state pool but with no government help. Under Schwarzenegger's plan, even fewer people would qualify for a subsidy. The anxious masses How about the millions of Californians who have insurance now through work, but worry about losing it and not being able to replace it? Both reform plans would provide relief on this front by, in short, changing the way insurance companies do business. That would be welcome news to anyone who's worried about not being able to buy insurance on their own: 50- and 60-somethings who want to retire early, for instance, or cancer survivors Cancer survivors are those individuals with cancer of any type, current or past, who are still living. The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) pioneered the definition of survivor as from the time of diagnosis and for the balance of life, a person diagnosed with afraid to leave a job and start their own business because they fear they couldn't get insurance. Schwarzenegger would force insurers to sell policies to people with pre-existing conditions. Insurance companies could set prices based on a few factors, such as age and geographic area. The Democratic plan also would end insurers' practice of cherry-picking the healthiest people. It would, however, allow insurers to deny plans to the "sickest" 5 percent of applicants, who could instead obtain coverage through a state "high-risk" pool. Assuming Schwarzenegger and Democrats can reach a compromise -- as similar as their plans are, it could take billions of dollars to bridge a few key differences -- it's likely some hybrid of their proposals would be approved by lawmakers this fall. Voters would then be asked next year to approve a slate of taxes to provide the funding -- and how they vote will almost certainly be influenced by how they're affected. mzapler(at)mercurynews.com (916) 441-4603. |
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