Insurance exec offers plan for uninsured

A proposal by Blue Shield of California's CEO would require mandatory purchase of insurance, with state help for those who can't afford it.

By Robert Kazel, AMNews staff. Dec. 23/30, 2002.

The latest proposal for universal health insurance has come from a leading California insurer. While the company admitted it would gain large numbers of new enrollees if its idea materialized, it said the state would profit much more by addressing its deepening health care crisis.

Bruce G. Bodaken, chief executive of Blue Shield of California, said in a speech Dec. 3 that most employers in the state should be required to provide health insurance and that all other state residents should be required to purchase coverage on their own.

Bodaken told executives in San Francisco that 6.3 million Californians are lacking health coverage and that because of state budget shortfalls, programs to help low-income people afford care are "imperiled."

Under Bodaken's plan, all employers except for the smallest firms would face a mandate to offer health insurance that meets minimum standards for paying for preventive care, doctors' services, hospital treatment and prescriptions. Existing health plans on the market that don't meet those basic standards would be voluntarily eliminated by insurers or put out of existence by the state.

All other uninsured residents would be obligated to buy individual insurance coverage and could not be denied insurance based on preexisting conditions. State financial aid, which likely would be paid for by tax increases, would assist those people unable to pay the premiums. [...]