CA passes single payer health care for the second time (1st in 2006)

[eridani]

On August 31, California's State Assembly and State Senate passed Senate Bill 840, the California Universal Healthcare Act. SB 840 provides universal healthcare minus the insurance industry. SB 840 removes the criminal health insurance industry from our lives. The health insurance industry exists to
avoid the sick, deny claims, and pass costs on to others.

SB 840 is a bureaucracy buster as it removes the thousands of health insurance forms that providers and patients have to deal with. SB 840 contains no co-pays or deductibles.

Our next step is to rally in Sacramento on Monday, September 8 to demand that the governor sign SB 840. Rally buses will be leaving from San Francisco, Berkeley, San Jose, Stockton, Modesto, and Vallejo.

Please forward this message to anyone who may be able to attend the 11am rally.

Below is the press release from State Senator Sheila Kuehl.

__ I have forwarded this message.


Thank you.
Don Bechler
Chair - Single Payer Now
415-695-7891
www.singlepayernow.net

Capitol Office
State Capitol, Room 5108
Sacramento, CA 95814
[phone]
[phone] fax

www.sen.ca.gov/kuehl

Office of Senator Sheila Kuehl
Press Release

District Offices
10951 W. Pico Blvd., #202
Los Angeles, CA 90064
[phone]
[phone] fax

300 W. Third Street
Oxnard, CA 93030
[phone]
[phone] fax


California Legislature Passes Universal Health Care

Plan covers all Californians with comprehensive benefits, saves billions for employers and individuals, and guarantees consumer choice of doctors and hospitals


For Immediate Release:
August 31, 2008
Contact: Sara Rogers
[phone]

Sacramento - Senate Bill 840 (Kuehl), the California Universal Health Care Act, passed a final vote in the California State Senate today and will head to the Governor for his signature. SB 840 guarantees comprehensive health insurance coverage to every California resident, preserves a patients' right to choose their own doctors and hospitals, and saves consumers, employers, taxpayers, and state and local governments millions of dollars in health insurance costs.

"California needs universal health care because the old health care system is falling apart. SB 840 takes the money we're already spending and uses it more efficiently to cover everyone and to invest in quality improvements," Senator Kuehl stated. "We're wasting a third of our health care dollars on bureaucracy because insurance companies makes the system too complicated, premiums are skyrocketing and thousands of Californians are dying every year because of preventable medical errors. If the Governor again fails to sign this bill, our health care system will just continue its slide toward becoming a second world health care system."

"With the passage of SB 840, the Governor has an opportunity to lead the way out of the health care crisis that is devastating our families and our economy," said Assemblyman Mark Leno, a principle co-author of the legislation. "Our current system has driven up the cost of health care to the point where more than 7 million Californians can't afford coverage. We must do better."

SB 840 establishes a universal public insurance plan that builds upon California's existing private health care delivery system. SB 840 provides comprehensive medical, dental, vision, hospitalization and prescription drug coverage to every California resident. This broad coverage is made possible through a streamlined claims and reimbursement system, which has been repeatedly proven to save billions of dollars in administrative costs and other wasteful spending. SB 840 also allows California to use its purchasing power to negotiate bulk rates for prescription drugs and durable medical equipment, such as wheelchairs.

This bill is supported by a growing network of over 200 organizations across the state representing tens of thousands of nurses, doctors, and teachers; counties, cities and school districts; hospitals and businesses; school employees and medical and health profession students; community organizations
and others. For a complete list visit www.senate.ca.gov/kuehl.

[sudopod]

1. FIRST KICK nt

[SammyWinstonJack]

2. K&R!

[demodonkey]

3. K & R However it doesn't look like this bill covers long term care for the disabled.

The FAQ on the prime sponsor's website says it only covers "Skilled nursing care AFTER HOSPITALIZATION". For how long? And what kind of care?

No coverage for the disabled = no real protection for anyone because ANYONE can become paralyzed or otherwise disabled due to sudden illness like stroke, severe chronic illness, or accident / injury.

As it is now you get put out of the hospital ASAP and generally the options are for-profit nursing homes or some sort of home care. If your few days of "skilled" coverage run out (or some dipshit thinks you "aren't making enough progress") coverage ends and you and your family are faced with the demeaning process of "spending down" everything you have and then applying for welfare (Medicaid.) THIS IS WRONG. Disability must be fully covered in any plan.

Without long term care for the disabled fully covered (for as long as they need it, none of this 100 days nonsense that Medicare gives you) there is NO REAL COVERAGE for anyone.

[eridani]

4. It is still WAY ahead of anything else out there

I'll bet that lack of full comprehensiveness will NOT be the reason that the governator vetoes it. They missed overriding it by 2 votes in 2006.

[demodonkey]

5. I didn't say not to support it, I just said it is not enough.

This bill is a start but there is no real coverage until healthcare is fully provided for every illness / injury from onset until the patient either dies or can return fully to enough Activities of Daily Living to live independently.

Kind of like getting voter-verified paper ballots are a start, but once attained need to be followed up by getting statistically significant audits of all elections to fully safeguard our elections. ;-)

I hope the CA people realize this, and are pushing for more comprehensive care after is passes, but reading the prime sponsor's website she seems to think her bill is pretty comprehensive as it is.

The sad thing is, either through covering long-term care for the disabled fully OR through the demeaning and barbaric Medicaid process the taxpayers still pay.

[eridani]

6. Agree. Also it doesn't do anything about medically underserved areas

If the nearest doctor is 50+ miles away, free choice of provider is effectively meaningless.

[eridani]

7. Some action called for

California's historic Senate Bill 840 legislation is NOW GOING to Governor Schwarzenegger's desk.

To get the governor's attention and to break thru the media clutter and noise, we are launching a OneCareNow Newspaper Ad Campaign, starting in Sacramento.

THANKS to your generous donations, we've scheduled a LARGER Ad in the Sacramento Bee on September 8. See the ad full size at:

We've made it easy for you to take ACTION NOW:

1. CALL THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE 9:00AM TO 5:00PM AT [phone]

2. EMAIL AND FAX THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE AT http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1308/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=5066

3. ATTEND THE SACRAMENTO COALITION RALLY SEPTEMBER 8.
4. SEND A LETTER TO YOUR LOCAL MEDIA
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1308/t/2213/letter/?letter_KEY=1025

5. DONATE TO HELP US RUN MORE ADS - IN NEWSPAPERS AND ONLINE.
https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1308/t/2213/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=3877

6. TELL A FRIEND TO GET ON BOARD
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1308/t/2213/tellafriend.jsp?tell_a_friend_KEY=3227

NOW IS THE TIME TO SEND A MESSAGE TO THE GOVERNOR and help us crack the virtual media embargo on SB 840, "single payer" and our historic grass roots movement.

Thanks so much.

Andrew McGuire
Executive Director, Health Care for All--California

Urge your local representatives to support SB 840