California, Here We Come

By John Greenwald

WANT A PREVIEW OF HOW FIERCELY INSURANCE COMPANIES might battle Bill Clinton's health-care proposals? Look at the way national insurers are pouring cash into California to defeat PROPOSITION 166, which would require all employers to provide health coverage for workers. Fearing that medical costs could billow under the plan, insurance firms with headquarters outside the state have put up more than 80% of the $2.3 million that opponents have raised to defeat it. The companies also fear that Clinton's proposal for a government-run program for employees not covered at work could lead to federal control of health insurance. Frets one executive about the Clinton plan: "It's the camel's nose under the tent."