THE CORE PRINCIPLES WE'RE FIGHTING FOR: 

What ACTION can I take?

1. Any requirement that individuals must secure healthcare coverage – called an "individual mandate" – could leave working families holding the bag for maintaining health insurance without any guarantees that it would remain adequate or affordable, or that employers would pay their fair share. True "shared responsibility" would guarantee that adequate coverage is available at an affordable price and that individuals, employers, and government all share in the burden for the rising cost of care.

2. Insurance standards must be sufficient to ensure that people can afford to get the care they need, when they need it.

3. The "employer mandate"– meaning the requirement that employers spend a certain amount of money on healthcare for their employees – must be higher than the 4% of payroll proposed in the Governor's plan, both to prevent some employers from dumping their employees' existing coverage and to ensure that all Californians can obtain decent coverage without individuals and government picking up too much of the cost.

4.  Public and private safety net hospitals that serve California's disadvantaged communities and make up the backbone of our state's trauma network must be protected from cuts in direct government funding by ensuring that any reform actually increases the volume of insured patients they treat.