(SACRAMENTO) -  Senate President pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) today unveiled a health care proposal to ensure that California’s working adults and their families have access to affordable health insurance.

CLICK HERE to view the details of the plan.

In a press conference, Perata urged legislative leaders to get down to business tackling one of the state’s biggest problems, the escalating cost of health insurance and the growing number of Californians who don’t have it.

“The governor himself has declared 2007 as the year of health care reform,” Perata said. “He sees it as I do, a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do something significant, important and long lasting. We must not squander that opportunity.”

“The present system – and that would be a generous use of that word – is a system that simply foments failure. Those who are sick get sicker before they seek medical care. And when they do, they do it in the most costly places: urgent care centers or emergency rooms.”

“Those with health care insurance unreasonably and probably unknowingly subsidize those who don’t. Insured adults and families pay about $500 a year in masked costs, costs that are not evident in anything that they receive in return for their premium payments. This cost shift is simply destroying the entire system . . . for everyone.”

“Here’s what I am proposing: We begin with what the parties of interest should be willing and able to accept. And I believe that that is insuring all working families . . . . That seems to be a goal that everybody can agree to.”

“Today, everything is on the table and everyone has a seat. But those who sit down must come prepared to act.”

 “So the real question comes down to if we don’t do it now, then when are we going to do it? And if not the governor and the Legislature, then who is going to do it? This is why we are here. This is the job we have asked to be able to do. This is the most important thing that we can do this year and, I think, until it gets done.”

Audio from the press conference and background information on the proposal can be found at Sen. Perata’s web site, http://dist09.casen.govoffice.com.