According to a report released by the California State Legislative Analyst’s Office yesterday Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger may have underestimated the cost of his health care plan by between $150 million to more than $3 billion. The governor has estimated his plan will cost 12 billion dollars a year to bring down insurance costs and extend coverage to the 6.5 million Californians the LAO’s report states that the actual costs may be higher. The Legislative Analyst's Office gave the nonpartisan report to the Senate Health Committee during the first hearing on the proposal Thursday. Though Schwarzenegger released the plan in January,

Thursday marked the first time lawmakers have been able to ask questions about it in an official setting. The proposal would require individuals to buy coverage, employers to help pay for it, and insurers to sell it to anyone who wants it. Doctors and hospitals would also be asked to chip in to help fund the expansion, which would also rely on a significant amount of new federal funding. According to the Sacbee, Kim Belshe, California secretary of health and human services, testified that the governor's plan would change the health care marketplace, making insurance more affordable for working families who would be required to purchase it because more people would be participating in the system. But several members of the Health Committee said the plan relied heavily on financial models without guaranteeing that people could afford the insurance they would have to buy."I don't see anything in the proposal that helps us feel confident that affordability will be achieved," said Sen. Sheila Kuehl, a Democrat from Santa Monica who chairs the committee.