Broad Support Greets Wilson Health Plan for Children

Gov. Pete Wilson’s design of a massive new health program for children of the working poor won swift bipartisan applause Wednesday, raising hopes in the Capitol that an agreement might be reached before the legislative session adjourns in just two weeks.

The political harmony was especially significant because assistance to the poor is a traditional battleground for Wilson and Democrats. It also comes as partisan relations in Sacramento are at a low point after months of bitter sparring over welfare reform, tax cuts and employee pay.

But lawmakers say they are motivated by an opportunity to make a profound change in the lives of hundreds of thousands of poor children, thanks largely to a new $24-billion federal grant to states that President Clinton signed Aug. 5. They also are keenly aware of a tight deadline. If there is no agreement before the Sept. 12 recess, the governor’s $478-million plan will be stalled until next year.

Wilson worked Wednesday to take advantage of the moment. He scheduled events in Los Angeles and San Diego to tout his ideas and the potential change they would make in the lives of 580,000 California children who live in families of the working poor and do not have health insurance.

The governor chose to highlight the impact on children who have a difficult time at school when they are troubled by health problems--even minor ones.

“We know that for them to be of sound mind, they must first be of sound body,” Wilson told an audience of students, teachers and education administrators at the Keppel Elementary School Healthy Start Center in Glendale. “If they get off to that kind of [unhealthy] start, they run the risk of a lifetime of underachievement.”

Under the federal Children’s Health Initiative, California will share in the grant program after adopting a plan for spending the money. The new federal bill gives states wide latitude in designing that plan.

Wilson has proposed that California create a new pool of private insurance companies that would be selected based on their bids to a state panel. It is intended to provide insurance to those children whose families earn too much to qualify for Medi-Cal but not enough to receive health benefits from their employer or to purchase a policy of their own.

For a family of four, that translates into an annual income between $16,050 and $32,100.

The governor also said that he could provide the necessary insurance at a much lower cost than the federal grant anticipates. California officials estimate that they would receive about $855 million in federal funds if they provide a 35% match of state money or about $460 million.

Wilson’s plan, however, would cost $479 million with just $167 million of state money. If a plan is adopted quickly, state officials said it could be in place by next July.

There are still some concerns about the governor’s plan from Democratic lawmakers, local officials and child advocates.

Many, for example, were hoping that the system would be operated by the government, perhaps through an expansion of the Medi-Cal program that already provides insurance to 2.5 million poor children. They are concerned that private insurance companies will not contract with the doctors and hospitals that are now on the front line of providing health care to the poor.

To Wilson, however, Medi-Cal is a bloated government bureaucracy that he does not want to expand. And Democratic leaders who had advocated the public-run system said Wednesday that they could support the governor’s idea if they find that it provides adequate benefits and protections for the consumers.

“I think the plan is basically very sound,” said Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward). “The encouraging thing is that I think we are philosophically close to agreement. I think there is a better than 50-50 chance of it getting done” before the session ends Sept. 12.

Assembly Speaker Cruz Bustamante (D-Fresno) was unavailable Wednesday. But Lockyer said that he discussed the plan with the speaker and that the two leaders had a similar view. Bustamante’s office also said the speaker had no major disagreements with the plan.

“I think the chances are excellent,” said Assemblywoman Liz Figueroa (D-Fremont), a co-chairwoman of the special conference committee.