Major Advance for California Healthcare Reform as Senate Passes Medicare for All Legi

[herring_RN, ASN, BSN]

january 28, 2010

to ecstatic applause from healthcare advocates, the california senate today breathed new life into national prospects for fundamental health reform by passing on a 22 to 14 vote a major bill to guarantee healthcare in the state through creating a medicare for all system that would cover every californian.

sb 810, the california universal healthcare act, authored by sen. mark leno and sponsored by the california nurses association/national nurses united (cna/nnu), with broad support among many healthcare, community, and labor groups, will now proceed to a vote by the assembly, which has passed similar legislation in the past. the bill would establish a single-payer system in california, modeled on the healthcare systems flourishing in virtually all other industrialized nations, where better patient outcomes are achieved at a fraction of the cost of the u.s. system. ...

... noting during the floor debate that, "consistently 59 per cent of california voters say yes" they want a medicare for all system in the state, sen. leno added that single-payer is not just a bill for a humane health system, but also a jobs program for a state that desperately needs one: "we can't compete in a global marketplace where all our competitors have had the government take the burden of healthcare off the shoulders of their employers....as we move towards single-payer in this state, and have better universal coverage, this will attract employers to california. we are already underwater in our healthcare system. we can't keep up."...

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2010/01/28-14

[elkpark]

:yelclap:

I hope they will be successful in getting it signed into law.

[GCTMT]

They've done this before but Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed it.

[RN4MERCY]

They've done this before but Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed it.

The wrong choice on his part, for the wrong reasons. I'm hoping that he'll take the opportunity to redeem himself and sign it into law...third time's a charm?

Arnold has said he's not interested in running for another elected office, so it's not as though he has any need of the special interest cash--not that the wealthy interests in the Republican party are above using his celebrity status like a cash cow for corporate fundraising. Perhaps he will find the courage to step up to the plate and stop being a handmaiden and "yes man" for the insurance industry and do what's right: provide access to healthcare for all.

Schwarzenegger grew up healthy and strong in Austria --a country with a single payer health care system. The children in his adopted home of California deserve no less of an opportunity. Last time I looked, Austria ranked 9th on the World Health Organization (WHO) rankings of world health systems. The USA ranked 37th!

Memo to Arnold: SIGN SB 810.

[GCTMT]

Well, here's hoping the Gov. does the right thing. I'm just not as optimistic as some of you.

[Music in My Heart]

Health care reform can't function at the state level... it must happen at the national level.

California is so far past broke that the idea of adopting something like this is simply laughable.

[GCTMT]

Health care reform can't function at the state level... it must happen at the national level.

California is so far past broke that the idea of adopting something like this is simply laughable.

I think you make an excellent point. It would be very difficult to regulate and I think the initial start up costs would send the state over the edge. Eventually though it would save the state a lot of money (if it's regulated properly).

Also, undoubtedly people from other states would be coming to California to get treatment with fake ID's. The regulators certainly have their work cut out for them.

I think if California lawmakers implement the proper safeguards this program could be a success, but, they're broke and the pessimist in me is saying it will never work at the state level.

[Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN]

My state has universal health care, I am pretty happy about it. But our state in about $2 Billion in debt. How is CA going to pay for this ? MA was planning on paying for this with Medicaid cuts which never happened.

Also this bill has not created any new nursing jobs. Overall I have been happy with my state's program.

[RN4MERCY]

Health care reform can't function at the state level... it must happen at the national level.

California is so far past broke that the idea of adopting something like this is simply laughable.

Most Americans and most CALIFORNIANs want a universal health care system. I hardly think the "idea" is laughable, since our legislature, acting on behalf of the people, has already passed it twice. And, we have every reason to believe that a single-payer, MediCare for all plan will function very well at the state level; this could be the start of a national health plan. We have only to look to Canada for the evidence.

We as a nation are slow in responding to the moral imperative of basic universal public health care (although a number of presidents, beginning with Teddy Roosevelt, have personally supported public health care). If Californians in 2010 do manage to place human life above the greed-driven free market health insurance industry by enacting a public health care option, we have Tommy Douglas to thank for the example.

Tommy Douglas, first became personally aware of the moral imperative of health care when as a child he almost lost his leg to a disease because his family could not pay for treatment; only by the good graces of a doctor, who offered his medical services for free, was Douglas' leg saved. Influenced by the Christian principles of the Social Gospel while in college, Douglas pastored for several years before entering politics during the Depression in 1935, becoming the Premier of Saskatchewan in 1944. He remained a leading politician in Canada for many years, consistently advocating for universal health care and basic human rights. Under his leadership in Saskatchewan Bill of Rights was enacted. While securing public health care for all, Douglas paid off government debt and created a surplus!

Douglas set Canada on the road to universal health care during the Great Depression, while here in California our legislature, led by Senator Mark Leno is seeking to do the very same thing during the current Great Recession. Canadians for several generations now have chosen to pay extra taxes (instead of premiums, co-pays, and deductibles) to operate and maintain Canada's universal public health care system.

So it all started in one Canadian province! And, an important study on the econometrics of health care reform, released last year by the Institute for Health and Socio-economic Policy, demonstrates how a Single Payer universal health system would help create jobs and put the economy back to work for all of us.

[Music in My Heart]

Most Americans and most CALIFORNIANs want a universal health care system. I hardly think the "idea" is laughable, since our legislature, acting on behalf of the people, has already passed it twice. And, we have every reason to believe that a single-payer, MediCare for all plan will function very well at the state level

Count me in the pro single-payer camp. The problem is that if it's only on the state level, more and more companies will simply flee the state and more and more sick and indigent people will flood the state (we already have 1/3 of the country's welfare recipeints.)

The reality is that there simply is no money in the California budget to support something like this. Sad but true.

"We have every reason to believe that... it will function very well at the state level" -- We do? I see no reason at all to believe that, let alone "every" reason. By all means, expand that thought.

[herring_RN, ASN, BSN]

sb 810 establishes a state-administered system to provide comprehensive coverage to all californians, delivered by our current mostly private network of physicians, hospitals, doctors' offices, and other providers. coverage would no longer be tied to job status or health condition or subject to ever rising premiums, co-pays and deductibles.

...california spent an estimated $212 billion in healthcare last year. this is plenty of money to provide every resident of the state with excellent healthcare, ensure fair and reliable reimbursements to doctors, nurses and other providers, and guarantee a high quality of care for all....

...affordable: the plan involves no new spending on healthcare. the system will be paid for by federal, state and county monies already being spent on healthcare and by affordable insurance premiums that replace all premiums, deductibles, out-of-pocket payments and co-pays now paid by employers and consumers....

...efficient: the act eliminates waste by consolidating the functions of many insurance companies into one comprehensive insurance plan, saving the state and consumers billions of dollars each year. currently about half of every dollar spent on healthcare is squandered on clinical and administrative waste, insurance company profits, and overpriced pharmaceuticals. the act is based on a model that has been estimated to save california about $20 billion through reduced administrative costs in the first year alone.

under the act, california will use its purchasing power to buy prescription drugs and durable medical equipment in bulk. it has been estimated that this model of systemwide bulk purchasing could save california $5.2 billion in the first year....

http://dist03.casen.govoffice.com/index.asp?type=b_basic&sec={ce4f5bc6-dd55-4bf0-bfad-4e6f4163a426}&de={fa246bb9-2232-418f-91aa-babc10f0cf18}

[Jolie, BSN]

sb 810 establishes a state-administered system to provide comprehensive coverage to all californians, delivered by our current mostly private network of physicians, hospitals, doctors’ offices, and other providers. coverage would no longer be tied to job status or health condition or subject to ever rising premiums, co-pays and deductibles.

…california spent an estimated $212 billion in healthcare last year. this is plenty of money to provide every resident of the state with excellent healthcare, ensure fair and reliable reimbursements to doctors, nurses and other providers, and guarantee a high quality of care for all….

…affordable: the plan involves no new spending on healthcare. the system will be paid for by federal, state and county monies already being spent on healthcare and by affordable insurance premiums that replace all premiums, deductibles, out-of-pocket payments and co-pays now paid by employers and consumers….

…efficient: the act eliminates waste by consolidating the functions of many insurance companies into one comprehensive insurance plan, saving the state and consumers billions of dollars each year. currently about half of every dollar spent on healthcare is squandered on clinical and administrative waste, insurance company profits, and overpriced pharmaceuticals. the act is based on a model that has been estimated to save california about $20 billion through reduced administrative costs in the first year alone.

under the act, california will use its purchasing power to buy prescription drugs and durable medical equipment in bulk. it has been estimated that this model of systemwide bulk purchasing could save california $5.2 billion in the first year….

http://dist03.casen.govoffice.com/index.asp?type=b_basic&sec={ce4f5bc6-dd55-4bf0-bfad-4e6f4163a426}&de={fa246bb9-2232-418f-91aa-babc10f0cf18}

supporters of this proposal in ca have the opportunity to prove to our country that such a healthcare system is workable and affordable.

i have long advocated for a pilot project to test a government mandated health coverage system. this would provide the oportunity to do so in a state large enough to convince the nation whether or not it will work nationwide.

i won't support a "sweeping" or "massive" overhaul of our system unless and until i see it work on a trial basis first.

eta: canada and england's systems do not equal a trial of government mandated healthcare here in the us. we have different systems of taxation, economics, education, social welfare, retirement, etc., which is why the success or failure of their systems does not automatically assure the same here.