KEY HEALTHCARE TERMS

INDIVIDUAL MANDATE
Part of the Governor's healthcare plan that legally requires every Californian to have health insurance (like car insurance) – even if they must purchase it themselves because their employer does not provide it. Healthcare workers have opposed this idea, because it shifts the risk and cost of coverage squarely onto the shoulders of working families. We propose the alternative of “shared responsibility” that would hold working families accountable to take up decent insurance if it were offered at an affordable price or to pay some portion of our earnings toward a system providing quality coverage to all Californians. This proposal would ensure that employers and government share equitably in the rising cost of care.

EMPLOYER MANDATE
Another proposal found in the Governor's plan (as well as in the plans from Senate President Pro Tem Perata and Assembly Speaker Núñez) that requires employers to spend a certain amount on healthcare for workers. Employers can choose to instead pay into a state pool from which workers can choose health plans themselves. Historically, we have strongly supported employer mandates because they legally codify our principle that employers have a responsibility to help provide coverage for their workers.

UNIVERSAL COVERAGE
Refers to the idea that all people in California should be provided health insurance, regardless of whether their employer offers coverage or whether they can afford to pay for it themselves.

SINGLE-PAYER (Medicare for all)
This refers to a type of healthcare reform that would centralize all payments for healthcare through one government financing system. Some European nations and Canada use this type of publicly financed system to make sure their citizens get care when they need it without the exorbitant cost of the American healthcare system.

MEDI-CAL
The name of California's Medicaid program, which combines state funding with federal matching funds to purchase healthcare services for millions of low-income Californians. Medi-Cal currently reimburses many providers at levels beneath the actual costs of the care they provide, leaving them with uncompensated care burdens they try to balance by shifting costs onto patients with private insurance.

SAFETY NET HOSPITALS
These hospitals provide care to lower-income communities and individuals who rely on Medi-Cal and other public programs. As a result, they often run at a deficit, spending more on providing care than they are actually paid. These essential community hospitals also form the backbone of California's trauma system, and any healthcare reform legislation will have to protect their ability to remain open and functional.

PROVIDER TAX
Part of the Governor's plan that proposes a tax of 4% on hospitals, and 2% on physicians to help finance the healthcare system. The logic behind the tax is that since all Californians will have health insurance, many doctors and hospitals will make much more money, and so they should help share the cost of reform.