Lessons from California's Health Reform Efforts for the National Debate

Publication Date: March 2008

Publisher: New America Foundation

Author(s): Leif Wellington Haase; Len M. Nichols; Peter Harbage

Research Area: Health

Keywords: State Health Reform; Politics

Type: Brief

Coverage: California

Abstract:

While the comprehensive health reform debate in California is now on the back burner, the national conversation continues to gain momentum. There is a growing consensus among lawmakers, employers, clinicians, policymakers, and, most importantly, the American public that our nation's health care system is in need of serious repair. While success in California would have been an extraordinary achievement, the outcome of the reform effort should not dampen the prospects for national reform if policymakers and opinion leaders take its lessons to heart.