California health reform puzzle: How to insure low-paid workers?

Still no real answer or viable solutions....BD

SACRAMENTOTo understand why it is so hard to cover the uninsured in California, consider the case of Brookfields, a small chain of family style restaurants near the state capital. Profits are low, and the owner, Sam Manolakas, says he cannot afford his workers' rising health care premiums. But since his waitresses, cooks and busboys earn so little, neither can they. So, like low-wage workers across California and the nation, many of Manolakas' employees are dropping their coverage. Now, reformers in Sacramento want to reverse this trend, which is a major reason why 6.8 million Californians had no insurance at some point last year.

A lot of the younger employees, they don't want to have anything to do with it," said Manolakas.

"I'm just too broke," she said.

San Jose Mercury News - California health reform puzzle: How to insure low-paid workers?