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Universal Health Care Passes Assembly

In a historic vote, the California State Assembly has passed SB 840, Sen. Sheila Keuhl's bill to provide health insurance to all Californians. Whether or not California families will ever see this much-needed reform to the system will depend of Gov. Schwarzenegger, who is likely to veto the bill.

Health care is in crisis in California, with nearly 7 million people uninsured and with Californians spending a whopping $186 billion a year on this broken system. SB 840 would save the state and California families $8 billion in the first year, while also guaranteeing everyone's right to choose their own doctor. This bill is a long time coming in California, and we simply cannot wait any longer.

Frank Russo at the California Progress Report has been doing the best coverage on this issue's movement through Sacramento this year, including a great report on the press conference held immediately after today's vote.

Assemblymember Jackie Goldberg spoke of the health problems that worsen because of the lack of prompt treatment. Later, these conditions not only cost more to treat, but are more debilitating for those who are sick. She cited real stories of her constituents who have faced bankruptcy, foreclosure, and other financial ruin to get treatment needed by their children.

“I find it an embarassement to be a Democrat, a progressive Democrat to live in a state without health care coverage for all of us” was how Assemblymember Patty Berg from Eureka started out her remarks. She spoke of her district, which is a poor, rural area and how SB 840 would help those she represents. She reminded all that with SB 840, California can be a leader in the nation.

Sid Cohn, an insurance agent for over 50 years was rather blunt and revealing. He said “Today I find myself in the position of selling a product that I do not completely believe in, but I have to provide what is available. I do not make these sales with the kind of pride and satisfaction that I would like.”

Late to the press conference, Sheila Kuehl arrived to applause, saying that she was sorry to be late to her own press conference. “Sometimes you can leave the Senate floor and sometimes you cannot.” She was apparently locked in the Senate chambers at the time of the start of the press event. Speaking of what she is expecting to occur, she said that this will be historic because it will be the first time that both houses of the state legislature have passed such a plan.

Well honed from four years of working tirelessly on the 90 plus page bill, she was nimble in her dissection of arguments against the bill and how it would be funded. She said “It creates access for all Californians by steeply reducing administrative overhead and emphasizing preventive and primary care instead of endlessly cutting coverage and access to care or increasing consumer spending.” She said this is “not ‘government run health care.’ It is an insurance plan. All providers remain as they are, private or public, but they would actually get to treat patients as they think best.”

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