The state will help those who are not insured to obtain coverage. Employers who do not provide health coverage for their employees would pay four percent of their payroll into a state fund to cover the uninsured. By federal law, undocumented immigrants cannot be denied medical care. The state wants to shift their use of hospital emergency room care to using doctors by making personal insurance more affordable to undocumented residents. The governor’s plan will stop insurance companies from denying coverage based on health status or age. The plan will require that 85 percent of insurance premiums go to patient care, not into the coffers of insurers, health maintenance organizations and hospitals. The Governors proposal also Boosts Medi-Cal rates paid to doctors and hospitals.

This will infuse an additional $4 billion in the program which covers low-income Californians. Doctors would then be required ro pay a two percent dividend and hospitals, four percent back into a state fund to meet the needs of those who can't afford care coverage. The governor also wants to promote healthy lifestyles and preventative care by implementing an incentives and rewards program for private and public employers who find ways to encourage healthy behaviors among employees. Schwarzenegger says his plan is not another state-run program but guidelines to provide and make health care affordable for California residents. Some Republicans oppose the plan, calling it a "job tax." “Imposing a costly new jobs tax on small businesses will do nothing to reduce our state’s uninsured population and will only cause thousands of hard-working Californians to lose their jobs,” Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines said. “We can solve California’s health care challenges if we act responsibly and focus on solving real problems, while resisting the temptation to embrace overreaching solutions and the failed ideas of the past.” Villines said lawmakers should make it a priority to help small businesses better afford health insurance for their employees.

Democratic Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez praised the plan, saying it has a lot in common with one the Democrats had already written. He said he was especially pleased to see the governor was calling for health care for all children.“The courts have ruled undocumented kids must get emergency care. Spending a little to keep them healthy would save us a lot in expensive emergency care and free up badly needed space in emergency rooms," Nunez said. "You’d think saving money and lives would be something Republicans in the Legislature could get behind. And I hope they will.”