Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/290181
By Judy Lin The Associated Press SACRAMENTO » California's health exchange announced Thursday that enrollment in private insurance plans had exceeded 1.2 million by an initial deadline earlier this week, although officials ac - knowledged they have more work ahead to reduce the number of people who re- main uninsured. Researchers at the Uni- versity of California at Berkeley's Center for La- bor Research and Educa- tion projected there would still be between 3.7 million and 4.5 million uninsured after the initial enrollment period. The estimates in - clude people living in Cal- ifornia without legal per- mission and who therefore do not qualify for coverage under the federal Affordable Care Act. They estimated that 5.4 million Californians were uninsured at some point in the year before the federal health care overhaul took effect. "We do have something to celebrate, but it's really a starting line," Covered Cal - ifornia Executive Director Peter Lee said in a call with reporters. Close to target The state's preliminary figure of more than 1.2 mil- lion nearly met the Obama administration's original target of 1.3 million. Cov- ered California has since ex- tended the deadline for two weeks for applicants who say they attempted to start the process before midnight Monday but were thwarted by technical problems. Exchange officials dis - puted the projection for Cal- ifornia enrollment that the White House has been us- ing all along, including this week when President Barack Obama hailed the 7.1 mil- lion enrollees nationwide. Instead, Lee said the state had set a lower bar, origi- nally projecting 830,000 en- rollees by the deadline. Covered California serves as the main portal for finding individual health coverage in California. Monday was the initial deadline for people to access subsidized insur - ance in the private market, but lower-income people can apply year-round for Medic- aid, the safety net program known as Medi-Cal in Cali- fornia. Toby Douglas, director of the state's Department of Health Care Services, has estimated that more than 1.5 million people who initially sought insurance through the exchange have been de - termined to be likely eligible for Medi-Cal or were transi- tioned from other programs. About half the states, in- cluding California, opted to expand Medicaid eligibil- ity under the federal health care law. Flooded call centers In California and in most other states, a crush of pro- crastinating consumers f looded call-center phone lines and bogged down state online marketplaces ahead of the deadline. A software problem with the federal government website, which operates in 36 states but not in California, temporarily prevented new users from creating accounts. For a while on Monday, Covered California listed a wrong phone number, send - ing hearing-impaired call- ers to a "hot ladies" hotline, as first reported by CBS13- TV in Sacramento. The tele- phone number was one digit off and corrected that day. Lee applauded the state's performance and "the out - pouring of community sup- port" despite periodic prob- lems with the website, hour- long hold times and extended lines at community enroll- ment sites. Lee said the number of people getting coverage will continue to improve and that state officials plan to provide an update after the April 15 extension deadline. Of the 1.2 million people who had enrolled by Monday's dead - line, more than 450,000 completed their applications during the last month. Covered California re - por ted that more than 500,000 people who started an account are getting extra time to complete their appli - cations. The latest enrollment fig- ure counts people who com- pleted their application and selected an insurance plan, but it's up to the consumers to pay their premiums to ac - tually get the health cover- age. An estimated 85 per- cent of those who sign up are expected to pay their premi- ums, Lee said. AffORdABLE CARE ACT 1.2 million enroll in California health plans Eric risbErg — ThE AssociATEd PrEss in this photo taken Monday, applicants are given instructions how to check in for a health care enrollment event at the oakland Asian cultural center in oakland. By Paul Elias The Associated Press SAN fRANCISCO » Cam- paign consultant Keith Jackson operated largely outside the spotlight for years as a political power broker in San Francisco. Now, authorities have cast him as a player in a cash-for-guns political corruption investigation that led to charges against him and state Sen. Leland Yee. Jackson remained in jail Thursday despite a magis - trate judge's order releas- ing him on bail. Federal prosecutors are appealing that decision to a district court judge, and Jackson was ordered held in cus - tody until at least the end of the business day. Federal prosecutor Wil- liam Frentzen argued in court that the seriousness of the charges means Jack- son should remain behind bars until his trial, which has not yet been scheduled. A mong his va r ious tasks in San Francisco, Jackson has been an ag - gressive fundraiser for Yee, a high-profile politi- cian who was elected to represent San Francisco's largely residential west side in the Legislature. Jackson raised contri - butions for Yee's unsuc- cessful mayoral campaign in 2011 and solicited cam- paign donations for the Democratic state senator's now-aborted run for Cali- fornia secretary of state. Jackson was arrested March 26 along with Yee and 18 others accused of having connections to a Chinatown organization that the FBI says was a front for a notorious crime syndicate. CRIME FBI: Key role for consultant in weapons scandal By fenit Nirappil The Associated Press SACRAMENTO » A Demo- cratic resolution denounc- ing outsourcing of govern- ment functions to private contractors passed the As- sembly on Thursday after prompting a spirited par- tisan debate about the role of government. The nonbinding, union- sponsored resolution by Assemblyman Jimmy Go - mez, D-Los Angeles, passed on a 42-22 vote. HR29 says the Assembly opposes out- sourcing of public services if it harms transparency and competition. Gomez says his resolu - tion responds to govern- ment entities relying too much on private contrac- tors during years of bud- get cuts and not consid- ering whether public em- ployees could do the work better. Local governments contract out for services that include garbage re - moval, park maintenance, mental health treatment and urban planning. Acting at the urging of public employee unions, Democrats say government contractors often pay low wages and shroud spend - ing in secrecy. Republican lawmak- ers say the ideas behind the resolution undermine competition and encour- age government waste. "If public employees have a better way, a more efficient way, a more cost effective-way of doing things, we shouldn't dis - courage them from speak- ing up," said Assembly- woman Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore. "But we should also not discour- age any local government or state government from getting the best services for the best price." SACRAMENTO Assembly Democrats denounce government outsourcing By Juliet Williams The Associated Press SACRAMENTO » San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed said Thursday that he is press- ing ahead with a proposed ballot initiative that would give local governments more leeway to cut public employ - ees' future pension benefits, saying he will target the 2016 ballot after losing a court challenge this year. "We have not stopped work - ing on this. We will not give up," Reed, a Democrat, told the Sacramento Press Club. He and a group of other California mayors had hoped to put a proposed constitu - tional amendment on the No- vember ballot, but they lost a lawsuit that challenged At- torney General Kamala Har- ris' description of the initia- tive. The mayor said he will ap- peal the judge's ruling, which he believes gave too much deference to the attorney general. The proposal is based on one Reed persuaded voters to approve in 2012 in San Jose, California's third most populous city, where pension payments jumped from $73 million in 2001 to $245 mil - lion in 2012, or 27 percent of the city's operating budget. The city eliminated a quar- ter of its workforce and im- posed a 10 percent pay cut across all departments. The city is scaling back fu- ture retirement benefits for current employees and new hires, but many of the changes remain in limbo after they were challenged in court by public employee unions. He said rising pension costs have been a major drag on local government budgets nationwide, and those gov - ernments must act to keep themselves solvent without severely cutting basic ser- vices such as police and fire. "This is a reasonably fair solution. There is no perfect solution," he said. "There is no totally fair way to do this. Is it fair to cut services to taxpayers year after year to balance the budget? It is fair to cut retirees' pensions years after they've retired? Is it fair to cut benefits that have already been earned by your current employees?" The proposed initiative would have allowed city, county and other govern - ments to reduce future ben- efits through collective bar- gaining or a local vote. Steve Maviglio, a spokes- man for unions opposing the plan, said Reed has been un- able to win sufficient politi- cal or financial support for his initiative so far. PuBLIC fINANCES Pension initiative pitched for 2016 The Associated Press SACRAMENTO » Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation giving California's political watchdog agency more au - thority to enforce the state's ca mpa ig n f ina nce laws and investigate suspected wrongdoing. AB800 by Democratic As - semblyman Richard Gordon of Menlo Park was drafted in re- sponse to $15 million that was anonymously funneled into two 2012 initiative campaigns. Gordon's bill gives the Cal - ifornia Fair Political Prac- tices Commission the author- ity to conduct immediate au- dits when political campaigns are suspected of illegal activ- ity and requires subcontrac- tors and sub-vendors to dis- close their donations. SACRAMENTO Ca mp ai gn m one y bi ll si gn ed GRAND OPENING! Discount Tire Outlet is now open in Red Bluff Live remote from 11-1 with the WOLF and Scott Michaels WOLF and Scott Michaels WOLF and Scott Michaels WOLF and Scott Michaels (530) 529-0332 • Monday-Friday 8-5 Check out the crazy good deals! When: Friday, April 4 th Where: 450 Antelope Blvd. Next to Auto Lube a set of quality a set of quality used tires! used tires! Enter to win: 530 566 1966 Ask about cushy country boarding Free 10 minute phone chat. You decide to pay. Dog Behavior help is available now by phone! www.brainydog.com help@brainydog.com $35 for 45 minutes. Reception April 5 TH 1pm Garden Side Cafe Suggested Donation $5 TCDCC Community/Senior Center 1500 S. Jackson St, Red Bluff (530) 527-3112 Fish Frenzy Fish Frenzy Friday s Friday s Every Friday in March & April 365 S. MAIN ST, RED BLUFF 527-2720 • www.lariatbowl.com Lariat Bowl Fish & Chips Fish Tacos Fried Fish Sandwich Tuna Fish Salad Tuna Fish Sandwich 1104 Walnut St., Red Bluff 530-690-2232 office Craftsmanship Service - Value (530) 840-4465 796 Antelope Blvd, Red Bluff Why rent storage? Own your own! | NEWS | rEdbLUFFdAiLYNEWs.coM FridAY, APriL 4, 2014 6 A