SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- To succeed with his plan to extend health care to 6.5 million uninsured Californians, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will have to find common ground between groups that often are at odds...

"I look forward to everyone now having those debates," Schwarzenegger said..."There are a lot of people around the table."

Under the proposal, all Californians must have insurance, although the poorest will be subsidized. Those who go uncovered will be subject to tax penalties. Businesses with 10 or more employees will have to offer insurance to their workers or pay 4 percent of their payroll into a state fund. Smaller firms, which the governor's office said make up 80 percent of California businesses, will be exempt...

Several experts said it went even further than Massachusetts, which last year became the first state to require everyone to have health insurance.

"This plan one-ups Massachusetts," said Peter Harbage, a health care consultant with the New America Foundation. "The governor has gone further and added doctors, hospitals and health plans" to those who must help pay.

The state will subsidize the estimated 1.2 million low-income people who do not currently qualify for coverage. They would be able to buy insurance through a state-run pool and will have to make a small contribution toward their premiums...

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