SB 562 Endorsement
SB 562 Single-Payer Healthcare was endorsed unanimously by ECDC members after a talk by Healthy California speakers Carolyn Bowden (CNA) and nurse Trish Gonzales (NNU) — and a question and answer session.
The fight for single-payer healthcare has been going on for more than 20 years. The United States spends more on healthcare than any nation, but has worse health outcomes, for example: the lowest average life expectancy (78.8 years), the highest infant mortality, and the highest percent of seniors with 2 or more serious medical conditions. Moreover, we are spending more on healthcare, including increasing insurance premiums and staggeringly high drug costs, yet not receiving the healthcare we need.
While the Affordable Care Act (ACA) set a new healthcare standard, covering more people than ever before, with no lifetime caps, a much-needed emphasis on preventative care and greater coverage of young people through age 26, the ACA did not address cost control, the problem of self-rationing (where people reduced their medical visits and cutback on prescription drug dosages because of high costs), and the uninsured.
SB 562 would reduce costs by significantly lowering administrative costs to the 3 to 5% level and enabling California to directly negotiate with providers (e.g. Kaiser, Sutter) and drug companies. By removing the enormous costs of co-pays and deductibles paid to for-profit insurance companies, the ever-rising cost of prescription drugs, and the cost of insurance claiming, California would be able to provide guaranteed healthcare benefits, ends means testing, provide stable funding for community clinics, and reduce administrative costs to businesses. Most importantly, individuals would be able to change jobs without losing healthcare coverage and be able to seek care for their families without the fear of being unable to pay. And healthcare coverage would be removed from the bargaining table for workers–and should reduce healthcare costs of cities and counties.
The Powerpoint slides of the Healthy California presentation can be seen here: http://www.healthycaliforniaact.org/resources/
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Update on CDP Convention and Ellis/Bauman Race for CDP Chair
Immediate Past President Hilary Crosby reported on the currently unsettled state of the contest for CDP Chair between nonprofit executive Kimberly Ellis and Los Angeles County Party chair Eric Bauman. Full coverage from the Sacramento Bee is here: http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article154648059.html