510-595-4661
Greens@richmondgreens.net

The Richmond Greens Say:
"Health Care for All : Yes on SB 921!"

Health Care for All : Yes on SB 921!
Senator Sheila Kuehl
State Capitol,
Room 4032
Sacramento, CA 95815
Re: Support for SB 921 (Kuehl)

We are writing to express our organization's support for SB 921, the Health Care for All Californians Act, which establishes a single comprehensive health plan for all California residents at no new cost to the state.

Our health care crisis cannot be fixed with partial measures. Over the last decade, California has tried many incremental reforms, which have not seen successful. Instead of improving, California's health care system has deteriorated. SB 921 corrects the underlying problems of inefficiency, waste and partial coverage that continue to undermine California's health care system.

All Californians lose when hospitals close or when emergency rooms are crowded with people who can not receive needed care in a doctor's office because they have no health insurance. All Californians lose when billions of dollars are wasted on unnecessary administrative costs. All Californians and their employers lose when rapidly rising health insurance costs threaten health insurance coverage.

Our current health care system spends between 20-30% of all health care dollars on administrative costs. Under the single payer system proposed by SB 921, administrative costs are reduced to 5% of the health care budget, saving $14 billion dollars that will be redirected into health care services for all Californians. Additionally, the single payer system proposed by SB 921 would lower the cost of pharmaceuticals through bulk purchasing, creating further savings. These savings would also be recaptured to provide additional coverage for Californians.

California needs a healthcare system that works for everyone and treats everyone equally. With seven million Californians living without insurance, Californians need a system that provides the security of knowing that they will never lose health insurance because they can't afford it, or because they have a pre-existing condition or because they lose their job. SB 921 provides such a system.

We strongly support SB 921.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 22, 2004

CONTACT: Sara Rogers 916 445 1353 or Robin Podolsky 310 441 9084

KUEHL'S STATEWIDE HEALTH COVERAGE BILL TAKES HISTORIC STEP FORWARD IN ASSEMBLY HEALTH COMMITTEE

Senate Bill 921, authored by State Senator Sheila Kuehl (D-23) which would provide comprehensive health benefits to every Californian at no new cost to California's general fund, has been passed by the State Assembly Health Committee by a vote of 12 to 5.

SB 921 would create a single, streamlined reimbursement system for medical care in California that has been projected to save the state about $14 billion dollars in administrative healthcare costs alone. These and other substantial savings make it possible to insure every resident of California with a comprehensive health plan that would include medical, dental, vision, mental health and prescription drug coverage among benefits.

Because SB 921 would cover every Californian, it would offer each patient the freedom to choose among all healthcare providers. Healthcare provision would remain subject to competition and in private hands. The legislation would also require the State of California to use its purchasing power to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies to buy prescription drugs in bulk, thus drastically lowering their cost.

"I'm very grateful to my colleagues in the Assembly Health Committee for voting to extend healthcare coverage to every Californian," said Senator Kuehl. "SB 921 will make it possible for every Californian to keep their health care coverage even if they change jobs; start a business; start a family; continue our education; or travel out of state. Our important relationships with the doctors we trust will not be interrupted. People with undetected chronic illnesses will get the care they need to avert the heartache and economic burden of medical catastrophes. This bill will save our state money and improve the quality of life for all of us."

Today, approximately 1 out of 5 Californians is uninsured, and, nationally, catastrophic medical illness remains the leading cause of personal bankruptcy. Most uninsured Californians are employed but either cannot afford the medical insurance offered to them at work or are not offered healthcare benefits through their job. Analysts agree that the costs of healthcare are propelled upward by the overuse of emergency room care (the most expensive kind of healthcare delivery) by people who are not insured and do not receive regular medical attention. Doctors and hospitals also report that, as insurance premiums rise in cost, the reimbursements paid by private insurance companies to medical providers are shrinking.

Cost Controls in SB 921 would mean that businesses would not be burdened with suddenly rising health care premiums; would no longer have the responsibility for negotiating complicated health care benefits packages for their employees; and would also insure the self-employed.

SB 921 would also relieve doctors and hospitals of the administrative costs associated with multiple insurance plans. Since all patients will be insured, healthcare providers will not have to worry about uninsured patients being unable to pay for the care they receive. Physicians will have a direct voice in the amount of reimbursement they receive. Those reimbursements will reflect the actual costs, on a regional basis, of providing care, and they will come on time. Doctors, not insurance companies, will be in charge of deciding what is medically appropriate for patients.

SB 921 will be funded with those federal and state dollars already earmarked for healthcare, along with a means-based, equitable tax. Individuals and employers will pay into the plan based on what they can afford, not what insurance companies want to charge. This tax will replace all premiums, deductibles, co-pays and out-of-pocket expenses. For most taxpayers and businesses, this will lead to sizeable savings.