Enforcement Options Considered For Proposed California Health Insurance Mandate
April 17, 2007 – 10:49 am |California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R) administration on Tuesday proposed using state and private databases to locate residents without health insurance, an approach that also could be used to enforce penalties against uninsured people, the Los Angeles Times reports. The plan was presented at a meeting of representatives from insurers, hospitals, physicians, business organizations and consumer advocacy groups (Rau, Los Angeles Times, 4/11). Schwarzenegger in January announced a proposal that would require all state residents to obtain health insurance and would share the cost among employers, individuals, health care providers, health insurers and the government (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 1/9). Schwarzenegger said the proposed system could be modeled after a system that the state Department of Motor Vehicles uses to track drivers without car insurance and another state system that tracks residents who do not pay child support. Under the plan, residents who lacked coverage for at least 60 days would be located through state or private databases. The Schwarzenegger administration said that the proposal initially would be intended to notify uninsured residents that they must have insurance and help identify insurance options. Residents who do not obtain coverage after being notified would be subject to penalties. California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Kim Belshé said the tracking system “represents one approach to enforcement,” but she added that “nothing is set in stone.” Other proposals under consideration would “attach the wages of people who don’t buy insurance and … increase the amount they owe in state income taxes,” according to the Times. Some present at the meeting said they oppose penalties for the uninsured (Rau, Los Angeles Times, 4/11).
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