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Governor Schwarzenegger Vetoes AB 8; IOH hosts 48-Hour Vigil

October 19, 2007
On Friday October 12, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed Assembly Bill 8 (AB 8), supported by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and Senate President Don Perata. AB 8 was the legislative leaders’ comprehensive health reform legislation that was supported by many health, consumer, labor, and community groups as well as Artists United for Healthcare. AB 8 would have expanded coverage to nearly 95 percent of California’s population by making coverage more available, affordable, and automatic. AB 8 would have also established affordability guidelines to ensure Californians would not have to pay more than 5 percent of their income for premiums and out-of-pocket costs. In addition, AB 8 limited the underlying costs of health coverage by requiring providers to disclose price and quality information, among other cost containment measures.

Five days after the Governor’s veto, Artists United for Healthcare members joined It’s OUR Healthcare on Wednesday the 17th from 2 PM to 4 PM to participate in IOH’s vigils for health care in San Francisco and Los Angeles. During this time, artists and others from around both San Francisco and Los Angeles expressed the need for quality, affordable health care for all Californians. Over the two day period from noon, Wednesday, the 17th, until noon Friday, the 19th, over 1000 people participated in the IOH’s vigils in six cities across the state, completing almost 200 hours in front of the Governor’s six offices. In addition, the vigils earned television coverage on nearly 25 television stations, one of which was CBS 5/KCBS, San Francisco.

Vigil participants gather during the artist allotted time on Wednesday, October 19th, 2007.

Significantly, the California Budget Project released its annual “Making Ends Meet” report also on Wednesday the 17th. The report estimates basic costs of living in California, including housing, transportation, food, and health care, and serves as a better judgment of economic well being than the Federal Poverty Line, which was set in the 1960s and has not been updated since. As we wrote in our Latest News on October 12th, Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposed health care plan does not provide low-cost health insurance to individuals who earn more than $25,000 or families with household incomes over $50,000. The California Budget Project’s report estimates that statewide the basic expenses of individuals is close to $30,000 and the basic household expenses of families of four is over $60,000. These two estimates, which are 20% higher than the income level at which subsidized health insurance is provided under the Governor’s bill, illustrate that the portion of the population just above the Governor’s cut off for subsidy will be forced to pay for health insurance, because of the bill’s individual mandate, that they will not be able to afford. As many artists make a modest living but don’t have enough extra income to afford mandated health coverage, artists would likely fall between the Governor’s subsidized health care income level and an income that allows for more disposable income. Affordability is the key to health care reform.