Governor Touts Universal Healthcare in San Diego

By Andrew Phelps, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published April 17, 2007 at 3:45 PM PDT

This story was published more than 17 years ago.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger pushed his universal healthcare plan in San Diego Tuesday. He toured one of the busiest ERs in the county. KPBS reporter Andrew Phelps was there.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger pushed his universal healthcare plan in San Diego Tuesday. He toured one of the busiest ERs in the county. KPBS reporter Andrew Phelps was there.

Scripps Mercy Hospital takes in 50,000 patients a year. It was designed for 30,000. Governor Schwarzenegger says the uninsured are clogging E-R's in San Diego. He sat down with Ivy Harris, who's here with abdominal pain. She's insured, but she feels the high costs of healthcare.

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Schwarzenegger : Right now the system is not working.

Harris : But it's gonna cost us even more money when you reform it, because -- really, we should have free medical care in America.

Schwarzenegger : There's no such thing as free.

Harris : Oh, we should have it free.

Schwarzenegger : I understand, but I mean--

Harris : I mean we shouldn't pay all this money that we're paying. We pay taxes.

Schwarzenegger : Someone always has to pay for it.

The governor wants to make health insurance mandatory. That would cover 6.5 million uninsured Californians. He says that would take the burden off of the insured, who pay what he calls the "hidden" costs of healthcare.

Andrew Phelps, KPBS News.