California Insider

Researchers asked 600 Northern Californians to help define what a "basic benefits package" would look like, what would be covered, and what would not be covered. You can read the Health Affairs article on the results if you go through this California Health Care Foundation link.

Catching up on some loose health care ends. The latest details -- or speculation -- about a possible Schwarzenegger health plan:

--Lots of emphasis on prevention, health education, fitness;
--Greater use of technology to improve care and reduce medical errors;
--Reexamination of the state mandates that require insurance companies to offer particular services to every consumer whether they want them or not.

For better or worse, this stuff will be widely seen as tinkering around the edges. He'll have to be bolder than that if he hopes to see 3 million more Californians gain access to affordable coverage.

Meanwhile, here is a proposal by Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana to increase access to Medicaid and pay for it with a 25-cent increase in the tobacco tax.