Experts discuss details, implications of 2 health care propositions on the ballot

Proposition 35 similarly carries a mixed bag of pros and cons, experts said.

The proposition seeks to make permanent an existing tax on managed care organizations such as Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of California, which purchase insurance on behalf of those enrolled in Medi-Cal, [UCLA Center for Health Policy Research Fellow Naomi] Zewde said. The revenues from these taxes are used to offset the costs of Medi-Cal, but they also act as a benchmark for the federal government to determine how much funding it will provide to those managed care organizations, said Riti Shimkhada, a senior research scientist at the Center for Health Policy Research at UCLA.