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Historic Health Care Vote This Week

Sen. Sheila Kuehl's California Health Insurance Reliability Act has passed out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee and will be heard this week on the Assembly Floor. The vote is extremely close, and 41 Assemblymemners will have to vote yes to move the bill to the Governor's desk.

Click here to send a message to your Assembly representative, letting them know that you support health care for all Californians, and that you demand our state's leaders show some real leadership on this issue and pass SB 840.

Here is the email message Sen. Kuehl sent out this weekend:

This is a truly historic vote – the first time in the history of California that a concrete proposal for universal health insurance reform is poised to pass both houses of the Legislature and be placed for signature on the Governor’s desk. Within days, we could be one signature away from affordable and comprehensive health coverage for every Californian.

SB 840 is the only plan that will cover every Californian with reliable health insurance, stabilize costs, and improve quality at the same time. This plan saves businesses money, is affordable for families and guarantees every Californian the right to choose his/her own physician.

As amended, the bill is funded by drawing in current public spending as well as replacing the premiums, co-pays and deductibles paid to insurance companies with premiums paid to the system. The bill calls on a blue ribbon panel of health finance and technical experts to develop the premiums.

This is an important first step toward free, universal health care for all Californians. Right now nearly 7 million of our state's residents are without health coverage, forcing them into bankruptcy or to leave illnesses unattended until they become very serious or fatal. It is a despicable state of affairs for the richest state in the richest country in the history of the world, and it is about time we do something about it.

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