Single-Payer System Possible in California
The "increasing costs of health insurance premiums are bankrupting" California, as well as state employers and residents, Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D-Los Angeles) writes in a Sacramento Bee opinion piece in support of her bill (SB 840) to create a single-payer health insurance system in California.
"SB 840 works by pooling our health care resources, so that everyone -- state and federal government, income earners and employers -- all pay in, and Californians all get quality coverage," Kuehl writes, adding that the legislation "reduces costs and guarantees your right to choose your own doctor." The measure also "saves businesses money and is affordable for families," Kuehl writes.
According to Kuehl, health care spending in California currently amounts to about $186 billion annually, "enough to provide every California resident with excellent health care" if caps on administrative expenses are enacted. "We don't need to spend more on health care; we need to stop wasting our health care dollars on insurance company administration," Kuehl writes (Kuehl, Sacramento Bee, 8/20).