UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE IN CALIFORNIA: SB840 passes Health Committee

July 6, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Sara Rogers 916.651.4023 or Robin Podolsky 310.441.9084

KUEHL’S UNIVERSAL HEALTH INSURANCE BILL PASSED BY STATE ASSEMBLY HEALTH COMMITTEE

On July 5, 2005, State Senate Bill 840, the California Health Insurance Reliability Act (CHIRA), authored by State Senator Sheila Kuehl (D-23), passed the State Assembly Health Committee by a vote of 9-4. SB 840 would provide health insurance with comprehensive benefits to every Californian while preserving each consumer’s right to choose his or her own doctor.

By establishing a streamlined reimbursement process that would take the place of current public and private insurance plans, SB 840 would enable California to save billions of dollars in administrative costs, thus making it possible to offer every resident the comprehensive benefits plan laid out in the bill.

In place of all current premiums, deductibles, co-pays and other out of pocket expenses, consumers would pay a yearly means-based premium for all coverage, which would include medical, dental, vision, prescription drug, hospitalization and emergency coverage, along with other services. SB 840 is the only bill being discussed in the legislature that enables the State of California to utilize its full purchasing power to negotiate bulk discounts for prescription drugs and durable medical equipment like all other industrial countries. Medical care, retail pharmacy sales and other health care delivery services would remain private and subject to competition.

SB 840 is designed to put no new burden on California’s general fund. It is based on a model developed from an analysis of California health plans by the Lewin Group, an independent healthcare cost/benefit analysis firm. The Lewin model, detailed in a report released in January of this year, details ways by which SB 840 can reduce overall healthcare costs in California while insuring every resident at a high level of coverage.

“One of every five Californians is now uninsured” says Senator Kuehl, “and the majority of the uninsured are working people. All of us pay the price for this crisis. The emergency rooms we count on for help are overburdened with patients who have nowhere else to go for care. Hospitals and doctors bear the cost of this over-reliance on expensive emergency room care by people who can’t pay for it, along with the cost and distraction of the mountains of paperwork it takes to get reimbursed for caring for those patients who do have insurance. Insurance premiums are rising, while coverage is shrinking.”

“Half of the personal bankruptcies in this country are the result of medical expenses, and the majority of the people bankrupted for that reason had insurance at the time they became sick or injured,” continued Senator Kuehl. “Each of us is vulnerable. One bad traffic accident can wipe out a lifetime of careful financial decisions”

“Cosmetic surgery won’t fix this problem. It’s time we stopped finding out how much worse it can get. I’m very grateful that my colleagues on the Assembly Heath Committee agreed that it’s time for a cure.”

:bounce:

Do you know how long you would have to be a citizen of California before you would be able to enroll in the program?

I am praying this passes completely and becomes a model that the rest of the country can follow....

My dad tells me that the HMO's are still ramping up their opposition. We kind of took them by surprise.

People will go to California in droves.

I know if I needed it, I would.
Aren't there cheaper places to live though?
Around the Fresno/Hanford areas?
Less desirable places?

up there.

and you don't have to become a Canadian citizen... not that it's a bad thing to be Canadian, just that it's usually a hassle to do that sort of thing.

it is paid for by taxes.

But also, Canada's healthcare system has problems like long waits and a shortage of specialists (meaning that if you can afford American healthcare or get it through your job, you might be better off here)---plus if too many poor people lacking Health Insurance flooded Canada, their system might not be able to absorb it. Canada has less people than California

but setting it up in the US would be far more difficult than Canada

perhaps run by the states? Who knows---this is a good sign. California is one state that needs this especially, with the high cost of living as it is draining peoples money

Ever try to get an appointment in SW Florida? 3 months is not uncommon. Also urgent treatment in Canada is about equivalent to our own AND they cover 100% which we sadly do not except in Emergency situation when some benevolent Plutocrat deems it acceptable.

I am not arguing for our system. It clearly is not meeting the needs of the public.

I was just pointing out there are difficulties with their system. Also, we are a much larger country, and setting it up would be hard and take alot of time. I don't know---I am basically in agreement with you.

I have never had a 3 month wait. Maryland is probably easier than Florida, who knows

Canada always gets blasted for waits yet the studies I see show overwhelming support for the current system so those waits seem spurious as an argument imho.

Personally I usually use France as the best example of comprehensive health system.

But we're basically in agreement so I apoligise for being short. I mean verbally not height...Well I am only 5' 8" but hey:-)

I think we need a real discussion about how to make a better healthcare system. We have to be ready to discuss all the pros and possible cons we might have to deal with.

As far as supporting Canada's system---it is a no brainer. Who really enjoys paying an arm and a leg for basic health insurance? It is insanity the way we are ripped off by insurance companies and we need to end that. I am totally with you on that count

I am for a Universal healthcare system of some sort. But I think we need to come up with our own, because we are a far larger country with a different set of circumstances than what Canada or France has to cover. Perhaps each state could run it's own state plan? Maybe we cover every family that makes less than a certain amount like $150,000 or something (I don't know what the amount should be---or perhaps everyone but those in the top 1 or 5 percentiles of earners?)----a much expanded Medicaid/Medicare type plan and let the rich pay for their own (not including kids--all kids no matter what be covered)? Or a true nationwide single payer system? I don't know what would work the best

You can let them pay money for their own superior services, but you cannot let them opt out of universal insurance. That is the perfect way to doom the system to failure.

Long waits for non-emergency services is so much better than bankruptcy or death!

Taxes? You must of missed the point that, by removing the byzantine mess of private insurance, it is revenue neutral. And I love it that the premiums will be means tested. Make a million? Pay a thousand! Lost your job? Still get care!

Mostly I love that this unyokes healthcare from our jobs. It is freeing.

I pray that a similar plan is soon implemented across the U.S.A.

Canada's system is falsely maligned in the US press.

The waits are not the huge problem they are made out to be. They probably wouldn't even exist if the Canadian national health-insurance system hadn't been underfunded for about 15 years straight.

There are not shortages of specialists. Patients must often travel to get to specialists, though, because the non-competitive system means they have enough specialists and specialized equipment to service the population, but not enough to have one or every type in every town.

In the US, hospitals will do special proceedures that they only do once or twice a year. Consequently, they do a shitty job. Canadian hospitals, unconcerned with profit, will send you to a specialist who's really a specialist and has done that proceedure hundreds of times. In the US, you pay for this surplus of 'specialists' with your health.

In the US, we have lots and lots of medical equipment. We have twice as many mammography machines as would be needed to give EVERY American woman every recommended test. Not just the ones who can afford it, but all of 'em. Similar deal with all kinds of medical equipment. The machine that goes ping? That's the most expensive machine in the whole hospital, and we have twice as many as we can use. And you pay for this in higher medical bills.

Actually, Americans spend twice as much per-capita on medical costs than Canadians do, yet the Canadian system covers every citizen and we're getting on towards 45 million uninsured. Yet somehow universal healthcare is touted as 'too expensive.'

Talk about pathetic.

somewhat since I lived in BC - however, when I had a medical emergency there, I was admitted immediately and received excellent care for a life threatening event.

I had (still do) this condition in the US. My bill in Canada was less than 200. In the US it was thousands. Two years ago, I had another episode in the goood ole USA. The bill was $8200 for 5 or 6 hours in the ER. Even though I told them what was wrong and what treatment was SOP.

And, yes, the sales tax I paid shopping in BC is what covered me. I called the Canadian hospital when I got the bill because it was so small. They told me I was covered by that sales tax. I was there on a temporary work permit- not a resident or plans to become one. (Biggest mistake (beside a couple of marriages, that I ever made!).

Incidentally, my child was in junior high at the time - and the Canadian government sent me a check every month for something like 16-17 dollars to defray the cost of her being in school. On top of that, when I bought her pencils, paper, book bags, etc. I signed a book at the store and was exempt from paying tax on those items.

Waits for medical care in Canada and other countries with decent, humane health care systems are waits for elective treatments - not for energency, life-threatening treatment. They also (gasp) indulge in preventative care.

Remove the excessive profit motive from health care - and voila! people get to live. And be productive. Hell, they might also turn out to be activists.

Seriously. That will NEVER happen.

Unless we have a massive, nationwide depression.

This is so wonderful and it will pave the way for the whole country.

:bounce: :woohoo::bounce: :woohoo::bounce: :woohoo::bounce: :woohoo:

Good job! I am impressed and optimistic about this spreading now.

:kick:

and we all fall under the same system?

If Hawaii can do it.. so can we!


And someone in the lounge had the nerve to ask why anyone would want to live in California!

watch alot of businesses move to California. This will allow them to expand and their workers will probably make more money now that the business would be freed from paying insurance bills, which is hard for many smaller businesses to do

Just curious.

It'd be great news it if happens.

It's looking real good right now, though.

He could potentially pull his polls out of a nose dive if he embraced the idea.

for the entire U.S.

Do a good job CA - the country is taking notes.

--enacted the first single payer plan. Doctors went on strike, but backed off and saw their incomes go up by 1/3 the following year as people dealt with unmet needs.

The system was so obviously superior that the rest of the provinces quickly followed suit.

If this works in CA, it could really be a tipping point.

It is estimated that $20 billion per year can be shifted from administrative costs to direct care. Even Der Gropenfuhrer might find that hard to turn down. (Downside is it could help him regain popularity, but that would be worth it to the 1 in 5 Californians who don't have insurance, methinks.)

Man, another reason I'm glad I live in a state that's so "out of touch" with where we're constantly told mainstream America is at.

:woohoo:

Might get away vetoing it in Texas or Florida, but not in California.