HOW TO USE HEALTH CARE TO CREATE UNEMPLOYMENT

Why should Californians care if they throw more people out of work or force prices up? They all think it is the other guy that will suffer and they will get a freebie.

California restaurants, retailers and labor unions are throwing millions of dollars into the campaign for and against Proposition 72, which would require large companies to provide health insurance. Each side sees the measure as critical to its future. Proposition 72 asks voters to give their blessing to a California law that will require a "pay or play" system of health care for most medium and large businesses. "We cannot afford to not fight 72," said Jot Condie, president of the California Restaurant Association. "We estimate that over 20 percent of our membership goes out of business the first day this takes effect." The association is the single largest contributor to the "no" side, putting $2.5 million into the effort earlier this month.

That contribution was countered by the Service Employees International Union, which put $2.75 million into the "yes" side last week. By the end of the campaign, both sides may top more than $10 million, in part to try to get their message out amidst the clutter of the presidential campaign and 15 other ballot measures.

The health care bill was passed last year on a party-line vote of the Legislature and signed by Gov. Gray Davis days before he was recalled. Businesses were so upset about the new law that they spent millions to put it on the ballot, and now voters will have the final say on Proposition 72. Under the law, employers with more than 200 employees must provide health care coverage for the workers and their families by Jan. 1, 2006. Companies with 50 to 199 employees would be required to offer coverage to their employees a year later. Proposition 72 requires all employers to offer coverage to their employees or pay a fee into a state health fund purchasing pool. Employers with 20 to 50 workers are exempt from the law until 2007, when it would kick in only if a new tax credit is created to help offset their costs. Businesses with fewer than 20 employees will not be affected by the law.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is opposed to the measure and campaigned against it Wednesday at a Chili's Grill and Bar in Los Angeles, saying it would creates a state-run health care program that he predicted would be "a big mess.'' ...

In even worse shape than restaurants are industries such as agriculture, which compete in a global marketplace, said Allan Zaremberg, president of the California Chamber of Commerce. "This puts the state at a horrible competitive disadvantage with every other state in the continental United States," he said. Hawaii is the only other state to require businesses to provide health insurance.

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DON'T GET CANCER IN ENGLAND

Cancer care across England is poorly coordinated, funding varies widely from one area to another and doctors are not referring patients for treatment quickly enough, a parliamentary report said Wednesday. The government has put Primary Care Trusts in charge of spending most of England's cancer budget but many of the local health bodies lack the experience and expertise to allocate those funds, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Cancer said. "The inquiry has exposed a serious problem. The government rightly says that cancer care is a national priority yet the system that's expected to deliver it is too fragmented," said the group's chair, Ian Gibson.

The report recommended that the budget for cancer treatment and prevention should go directly to cancer networks -- the groups of hospitals through which care is organized -- so they can make long-term plans on how best to fight the disease. It also said family doctors should have special training to recognize cancer symptoms sooner.

Charity CancerBACUP, which co-authored the report, says one in three people develop cancer during their lifetime and the government has pledged to improve cancer prevention.

Health Secretary John Reid said the government did want better training for doctors but he was not convinced the current system of funding from local boards was inadequate. "The proof of the pudding is in the eating in this because we have now got almost 1,200 more consultants, we have got hundreds, thousands of pieces of modern equipment," he told the BBC, adding Cancer deaths had fallen by 12.2 percent since 1997.

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For greatest efficiency, lowest cost and maximum choice, ALL hospitals and health insurance schemes should be privately owned and run -- with government-paid vouchers for the very poor and minimal regulation.

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