This brief estimates the potential impact of various provisions in the House and Senate health reform bills on Californians' access to coverage. It finds that close to 4 million Californians would be eligible for Medicaid or subsidized coverage under both proposals at any point in time, and many more would benefit from insurance market reforms and the new health insurance exchanges. The brief also estimates that 2 million Californians who were uninsured or had unaffordable employer-sponsored insurance in 2007 would qualify for Medicaid under the House bill, compared to 1.74 million under the Senate bill. Additionally, 1.93 million would be eligible for subsidies in the exchange under the House bill and 2.19 million in the Senate, and 2.79 million would be eligible to purchase coverage in the exchange without subsidies in the House bill, and 1.93 million would be able to do so under the Senate bill. Finally, the brief estimates that 95% of California businesses, employing 44% of all workers, would be eligible to purchase coverage through an exchange by 2015.
