NEWEST LEGISLATION FOR SINGLE PAYER HEALTH CARE INTRODUCED IN SACRAMENTO

Armed with recent studies that confirm the need for drastic overhaul of our rapidly deteriorating health care system, and flanked by supporting legislators and an enthusiastic grassroots crowd, Senator Sheila Kuehl unveiled her most recent effort to create a single payer health care system in California with the introduction of SB840 on February 23rd on the steps of the state Capitol. CHIRA, the California Health Insurance Reliability Act, is an updated version of SB921, which completed its two-year journey through the state legislature last fall, passing the State Senate and the Assembly Health Committee. The new bill includes new language and provisions that strengthen such a system and help to insure its long-term financial viability.

While the new bill has additional provisions, it still maintains the integrity of its predecessor by continuing to propose a health care system that will provide high quality, reliable, affordable, and efficient health care coverage to all California residents. In addition, every person covered will have the right to choose his or her own physician and health care cost inflation will be controlled. Each successive version of this bill incorporates the continual stream of new information and study in order to improve both the system and sustain its viability. The study of SB921 that was commissioned by Health Care for All-California and conducted by the Lewin Group, a well-regarded health care consulting firm, provided tremendous evidence that proved the financial savings of a single payer system over our current hodgepodge. Based on the model utilized in the study, health care spending would be reduced in California next year alone by $8 billion. Such savings are derived from the ability to exercise bulk purchasing power by the state for both pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, as well as removing much of the costly (and cumbersome) administrative overhead, inflated executive salaries, and Wall Street profits that are currently derived off the backs of patients.

Along the same line, a recently released report from Boston University supports the basis for CHIRA with its conclusion that "about 50% of health care spending is wasted on unnecessary administrative costs, insurance company profits, and excessive pharmaceutical prices in the U.S., in excess of $950 billion per year" (nationally).

SB840 is one of several bills introduced this year to address the ongoing health care crisis. It is the most broad-sweeping of all the proposals because it would cover everyone at no additional expense. Despite the fantastic benefits and social concept of universal health care, our job remains daunting. Clearly the opposition from both the health care industry and pharmaceutical firms will escalate in the coming months. In addition, another legislative proposal for health care reform by Assemblymen Keith Richman and Joe Nation replaces our premise of health care as a right and society's social responsibility, with the notion of individual responsibility for health coverage. Such opposite approaches to solve the current problems will surely result in lively debate both in the legislature and among the populace.

Health Care for All-California (Vote Health is an associate member) and many other statewide advocacy groups continue to be the driving force behind the call for single payer. While the system continues to deteriorate with an increasing number of un- and underinsured residents, rising premiums, and poorer health outcomes, we still have a long struggle ahead to convince both the general population and business that a single payer system is the only sane solution to this overwhelming problem.

Once again this entails much work at the local grassroots level, as well as with organized labor and business interests. For its part, Health Care for All-California, has brought a new level of seriousness to its cause by hiring a prominent political operative, Andrew McGuire, to spearhead fund-raising and lobbying efforts and serve as HCA's executive director. Mr. McGuire's past political efforts have included campaigns for gun control and safer cigarettes. He also serves as head of San Francisco General Hospital's Trauma Foundation, which seeks to prevent serious injuries. In an effort to become familiar with HCA's membership, Mr. McGuire will be attending our next Vote Health meeting, Monday March 21st. He is welcoming the opportunity to meet with you and answer any questions.

As a major hub of single payer activity in Alameda County, Vote Health members will participate in a variety of activities to advance SB840. Aside from the usual garnering of endorsements and public speaking outreach, we will reach out to labor unions, faith-based organizations, and large employers to gain their support. (Since this is a new bill, the endorsement process must start all over again - the SB921 endorsements don't roll over). In addition, we will be ever-vigilant in holding Senator Perata to his strong commitment to this bill and making sure that he actively works for its passage.

Please come to our upcoming meeting to hear more details about SB480 and offer your time and energy for this campaign. Call Sue Bergman at 510-540-7085 for additional information.

"The Governor fought the law and the nurses won!"

Congratulations to Cal Nurses Association for defeating our unilateralist governor's emergency regulation suspending the hard-won nurse staffing ratios! Judge Judy Holzer Hersher declared his action illegal; her decision means that California hospitals must immediately restore safe staffing levels in emergency rooms and implement ratios of no more than 5 patients for every nurse in general medical units. The administration vowed to try to stop the decision from immediately taking effect. So call the Governor at 916-445-2841, x7 and tell him you oppose his attack on the safe staffing ratio law, or email him at governor@governor.ca.gov.

Vote Health Elects Officers, Executive Committee

Running unopposed, Kay Eisenhower was re-elected as Chair and Brad Cleveland as Treasurer at the Feb. 28 membership meeting. Also elected to two-year terms as delegates to the Executive Committee were Tory Becker, Sue Bergman, Allan Brill, Jean Dritz, Jim Forsyth, Irma Swygert and Rosa Watts. All members are welcome to attend Executive Committee meetings.

Bush, Schwarzenegger Eye Medi-Cal Cuts

Medi-Cal, an absolutely essential part of the support for safety net hospitals, is being renegotiated at the state and federal level. Both the Schwarzenegger and Bush administrations are considering changes which have the potential of causing an already stressed safety net to be ripped apart The state wants to impose premiums on Medi-Cal patients who are at or above 135% of the federal poverty level. The federal government proposes to reduce Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California) funding by $60 billion over ten years, and cap the dollars sent to counties. Counties, which by law are the health care provider of last resort for the uninsured and indigent, would have the responsible for any costs which exceed the cap. We must make our concerns known to our state and federal legislators and the governor that this is unacceptable.

Newsletter committee:
Kay Eisenhower, Brad Cleveland, Sue Bergman and Jim Forsyth.
Our thanks to CA Nurses Association for their help in producing this newsletter.