Calfornia takes lead in Health Insurance Exchange

Patricia Nazario/KPCC

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signs on Friday, Oct. 1, 2010, a bill, is the first in the country to create a giant purchasing pool for insurance under federal health care reform.

California is the first state in the country to create a giant purchasing pool for insurance under federal health care reform. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says the goal is to provide every Californian with medical coverage, without relying on the state’s General Fund.

“There’s still some states that are questioning if this was the right thing to do. If it is gonna be effective, or if it is even legal and all of those kinds of questions. The bottom line is California is not asking those questions. We are moving ahead, because we know it’s the right way to go.”

Schwarzenegger signed two bills at the California Endowment downtown Los Angeles today [FRI] creating the Exchange. He also announced a new website: healthcare.ca.gov.

Beginning in 2014, California’s Exchange will offer a variety of options for individuals and small businesses, as required under the federal reform law. Advocates say it’ll benefit five million uninsured Californians.

Twenty other states, including Alaska, Nevada and Alabama call health care reform unconstitutional and are preparing to take their case to court.