December 18, 2007 7:39AM 

# Universal Coverage Is the Health of the State 

By [Michael F. Cannon](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-f-cannon) 

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California’s health care sector is as [bloated](http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/hlthaff.w5.526v1) and [inefficient](http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/hlthaff.w5.549?ijkey=FKohijcQBeVVw&keytype=ref&siteid=healthaff) as the rest of the country’s, meaning that it already bleeds the taxpayers dry. But that’s just not good enough for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R).

He and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez (D) have [cobbled](http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-arnold15dec15,1,5137090.story) — and the state Assembly has [approved](http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-health18dec18,0,4788656.story) — a package of health care reforms that would further kneecap the taxpayers, march them down to Death Valley, and bury them up to their necks to be eaten alive by special-interest fire ants. But perhaps I understate.

Unless the Senate or the voters stop the plan, it will carve up taxpayers by regulating health insurance to protect favored insurers from competition; regulating employee benefits to protect favored employers from competition; imposing enormous taxes on young and healthy Californians; creating taxes and subsidies that seem deliberately designed to keep low-income Californians poor; imposing on all Californians the sort of [punitive mandates](https://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=8431) that [never have](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/15/opinion/15woolhandler.html) achieved [universal coverage](https://www.cato.org/2007/07/06/the-anti-universal-coverage-club-manifesto) and never will; and fraudulently foisting part of the cost onto taxpayers in other states. And all in the face of a $14 billion deficit.

Just goes to show what Republicans and Democrats can do when they work together toward a [common disaster](http://www.cowboyjunkies.com/albums/album_details.php?album_id=7#) like universal coverage.

##### Related Tags 

[General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Health Care](https://www.cato.org/health-care), [Tax and Budget Policy](https://www.cato.org/tax-budget-policy) 

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