With Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez' AB 8 off the table after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Oct.12 veto, the debate among lawmakers and constituents now centers on the merits of the governor's new plan introduced Oct. 9. Physicians will be pleased that the new version lacks the 2-percent doctor's revenue tax that the California Medical Association fought all year.

But not everyone is satisfied. At press time, a coalition of labor, consumer and senior citizen advocates called It's Our Healthcare kicked off vigils outside the governor's office to pressure him into compromising on proposal items they find unacceptable.

The most important point of contention is the requirement that everyone carry health insurance, says Anastasia Ordonez, a spokeswoman for the California Labor Federation, a coalition member. "Middle-class families ... can expect to pay anywhere between $8,100 and $13,000 a year for coverage," she says, citing a CLF analysis. Sabrina Lockhart, a spokeswoman for the governor's office, counters that those figures are estimates based on minimum benefits, as defined in the governor's January plan.

Because of the new plan's allowances for smaller firms, most employers will actually pay less than 1 percent of payroll, rather than the 4 percent maximum, Ordonez says. The coalition supported the Democratic plan's 7.5-percent payroll tax on employers, she notes.

Among the new plan's elements are: reduced payment for low- and moderate-income families; a $2,000 tax credit for low-income families; an end to patient medical rating; limits on insurer premiums; a sliding-scale employer tax; funding from the lottery; more hospital funding; and a mechanism to establish minimum benefit levels.

All sides agree that talks accompanying the new proposal's introduction were brief. "They walked away from the table, but they left the door open, and we welcome them back in at any time," Lockhart says. Ordonez contends that stakeholders on the CLF side were not able to review the governor's new proposal before its introduction, and are waiting for a formal invitation to discuss it.

Speaker Nunez, who is spearheading healthcare reform for the Democrats, appears to be siding largely with his traditional allies. "Affordability is front and center with the speaker, along with fair participation from employers in keeping prescription drug costs down," says Beth Willon, the speaker's press secretary. Nunez insists on the 7.5-percent employer payroll tax and wants the tax credit to apply to families below 450 percent of the federal poverty level, rather than below 350 percent, she says.

The current special legislative session can run concurrently with a regular session, so there is no hard deadline. However, most sources interviewed for this article opined that viable reform must happen before year's end.