MODESTO BEE
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

By LAURA KURTZMAN
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
and KEN CARLSON
BEE STAFF WRITER

Last Updated: January 9, 2007, 06:21:29 AM PST

Gov. Schwarzenegger laid out a sweeping proposal Monday to extend health coverage to most of California's 6.5 million uninsured people, promising to share the cost among businesses, individuals, hospitals, doctors, insurers and government.

Some elements are likely to provoke opposition from a range of powerful health care interests, including doctors, hospitals and insurers, as well as employers and unions.

But it also contains carrots for each of them.

All Californians will be required to have insurance, and all but the smallest businesses will have to offer it to workers.

Insurers no longer will be allowed to deny coverage to people because of medical problems.

All children, regardless of immigration status, will be covered through an expansion of the state and federal Healthy Families program.

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