CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SACRAMENTO : Doctors Drop Insurance Effort

A statewide doctors group has decided not to pursue its health insurance plan on next November’s ballot, lessening the likelihood that anything will be done soon for California’s 5.2 million uninsured. The chief lobbyist for the California Medical Assn. said in Sacramento that the group dropped its earlier plan to proceed with the initiative because it could not get the support of the state’s hospitals. “If we don’t reach agreement among the major participants, maybe we don’t have the right proposal,” association lobbyist Jay Michael said. The plan would have virtually required employers of more than five workers to provide health care coverage for their employees and pay 75% of the cost. Other funds would have come from tobacco tax revenues, a new alcohol tax and additional fees assessed against drunk drivers. Gail Catlin, spokeswoman for the California Assn. of Hospitals and Health Systems, said the group backed away from the medical association plan because it did not have a broad base of support and “wasn’t well enough outlined.”