SACRAMENTO, Calif. 鈥 Gov. Gavin Newsom鈥檚 covid-19 rules have been a in California鈥檚 recall election.
But there鈥檚 a lot more at stake for Californians鈥 health care than mask and vaccine mandates.
Newsom, a first-term Democrat, argues that their fundamental ability to get health insurance and medical treatments is on the line.
Republicans are seeking to 鈥渢ake away health care access for those who need it,鈥 according to his statement in the voter guide sent to Californians ahead of Tuesday鈥檚 recall election.
Exactly where all the leading Republican recall candidates stand on health care is unclear. Other than vowing to undo state worker vaccine mandates and mask requirements in schools, none have released comprehensive health care agendas. Nor has Kevin Paffrath, the best-known Democrat in the race, who wants to keep existing vaccine and mask mandates.
Outside of his pandemic measures, Newsom has, in conjunction with the legislature, funded to help low- and middle-income Californians buy health insurance; imposed a state on uninsured people; and extended eligibility for Medi-Cal, the state鈥檚 Medicaid program for low-income people, to undocumented immigrants . This year, he signed legislation to further expand eligibility to unauthorized immigrants ages . Republicans opposed all those initiatives.
Voters, who have been mailed ballots, have two choices to make: First, should Newsom be removed? Second, who among the 46 replacement candidates should replace him? A Public Policy Institute of California released Sept. 1 showed that 58% of likely voters want to keep Newsom in office.
To see where the leading recall candidates stand on health care, KHN combed through their speeches and writings, and scoured media coverage. Republicans John Cox and Kevin Kiley and Democrat Paffrath also consented to interviews. Republicans Larry Elder and Kevin Faulconer did not respond to repeated requests for interviews.
Larry Elder
Elder, 69, a conservative talk radio host, is of other candidates in polls. Elder believes health care is a 鈥渃ommodity,鈥 not a right, and wants government out of health insurance.
He opposes Obamacare 鈥 even some of the most popular provisions of the 2010 law embraced by other Republicans, such as allowing children to stay on their parents鈥 health insurance until age 26 and guaranteeing coverage for people with preexisting medical conditions.
鈥淔orcing an insurance company to cover people with pre-existing conditions completely destroys the concept of insurance,鈥 Elder wrote in a
In a on creators.com, he wrote that he would end Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for low-income people, and phase out Medicare, the federal insurance program for older Americans and some people with disabilities. (As governor, he would not have the authority to do either.)
Instead, he wants people to rely primarily on high-deductible health plans and pay their hefty out-of-pocket costs with money they have saved in tax-free accounts.
Elder told he doesn鈥檛 think taxpayers should spend money on 鈥渉ealth care for illegal aliens鈥 but also recently told he has no plans to limit their eligibility for Medi-Cal, saying it鈥檚 鈥渘ot even close to anything on my agenda.鈥
Elder calls himself 鈥減ro-life鈥 but has said he doesn鈥檛 foresee changing in California. Still, anti-abortion activist Lila Rose that Elder had promised her he would cut abortion funding and veto legislation that made abortion more accessible.
Kevin Faulconer
In campaign stops and debates, the mayor of San Diego from 2014 to 2020 has cast himself as a moderate, experienced leader who worked with Democrats to clear the city鈥檚 streets and provide shelters for homeless people.
Faulconer, 54, often refers to San Diego鈥檚 success at decreasing homelessness as one of his greatest achievements in office. But that success came only after a 2017 killed 20 people and sickened nearly 600 others, most of whom were homeless. Faulconer and the city council sooner to open more restrooms and hand-washing stations, despite warnings from health officials.
The city鈥檚 in the number of people sleeping on the streets from 2019 to 2020 resulted largely from efforts to curb the spread of covid by placing people in shelters.
A fiscal conservative, Faulconer is moderate on health care. He supports abortion rights and two years ago not to restrict them.
If elected governor, Faulconer said, he would push to expand California鈥檚 paid parental leave program to 12 weeks at full pay. Currently, new parents get of their income for up to eight weeks.
John Cox
Cox, 66, has centered his campaign 鈥 as he did his against Newsom 鈥 on his business credentials. The lawyer and accountant thinks the solution to California鈥檚 health care troubles lies in the free market, for example by letting patients know the cost of care ahead of time so they can shop for a better deal.
鈥淚 understand that health care is expensive, and families can’t afford it very well,鈥 Cox said in an interview with KHN. But that’s because 鈥渢here’s not enough price discrimination, not enough consumer orientation, not enough consumer choice.鈥
Health care is expensive partly because doctors and hospitals can charge whatever they want, and patients overutilize care because they don鈥檛 have to pay the full price, he said.
He favors health savings accounts with some government assistance for low-income people, which he said would make consumers more discriminating and keep health care prices in check. But he doesn鈥檛 want to take profit completely out of health care.
鈥淚 certainly want companies to make money from providing health care,鈥 Cox said. 鈥淏ecause I think that’s what gives them an incentive to innovate.鈥
Kevin Kiley
Kiley, 36, a state Assembly member representing a suburban Sacramento district, often speaks out against government interference in people鈥檚 lives. The former teacher and attorney believes government rules about insurance coverage, doctor-patient relationships and independent contracting have contributed to higher health costs.
Like Elder and Cox, he wants more transparency and consumer choice in health care.
鈥淚鈥檓 not sure it鈥檚 necessary to be continually specifying what every single plan needs to entail,鈥 Kiley said in an interview with KHN. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know that legislators are always in the best position to be weighing in.鈥
Rather than provide health benefits to undocumented immigrants, Kiley said, lawmakers should scrutinize Medi-Cal, which covers about one-third of Californians but is failing to provide basic preventive care, including childhood vaccines, to some of its neediest patients.
Kiley downplayed the coverage gains made under Obamacare that have reduced the state鈥檚 uninsured rate from about 17% in 2013 to about 7%, saying a reduction was inevitable because of state and federal requirements to get health insurance or be penalized.
He has authored , which did not pass, to increase funding for K-12 student mental health, which he says has only become more urgent in the pandemic.
Kevin Paffrath
Paffrath, 29, made his fortune giving financial advice on YouTube and in Southern California.
If elected, Paffrath said, he would create 80 emergency facilities across the state to connect homeless people with doctors and substance use and mental health treatment. And he would require schools to offer better mental health education.
He also wants to create vocational programs for interested students ages 16 and up. With better job training and higher salaries, Medi-Cal rolls would naturally shrink, he argues.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not Californians鈥 fault that one-third of Californians are on Medi-Cal,鈥 Paffrath said in an interview with KHN. 鈥淚t鈥檚 our schools鈥.鈥
Paffrath supports the Affordable Care Act and said he is willing to consider questions such as whether California should adopt a single-payer health system or manufacture generic prescription drugs.
Paffrath said he鈥檚 most interested in cutting health insurance red tape, which creates bureaucratic hurdles for patients, makes doctors spend more time on paperwork than patient care, and discourages new providers from entering the field.
This story was produced by , which publishes , an editorially independent service of the .
