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On August 31, California's State Assembly and State Senate passed Senate Bill 840, the California Universal Healthcare Act. SB 840 provides universal healthcare minus the insurance industry. SB 840 removes the criminal health insurance industry from our lives. The health insurance industry exists to avoid the sick, deny claims, and pass costs on to others.
SB 840 is a bureaucracy buster as it removes the thousands of health insurance forms that providers and patients have to deal with. SB 840 contains no co-pays or deductibles.
Our next step is to rally in Sacramento on Monday, September 8 to demand that the governor sign SB 840. Rally buses will be leaving from San Francisco, Berkeley, San Jose, Stockton, Modesto, and Vallejo.
Please forward this message to anyone who may be able to attend the 11am rally.
Below is the press release from State Senator Sheila Kuehl.
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Thank you. Don Bechler Chair - Single Payer Now 415-695-7891 www.singlepayernow.net
Capitol Office State Capitol, Room 5108 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 651-4023 (916) 324-4823 fax
www.sen.ca.gov/kuehl
Office of Senator Sheila Kuehl Press Release
District Offices 10951 W. Pico Blvd., #202 Los Angeles, CA 90064 (310) 441-9084 (310) 441-0724 fax
300 W. Third Street Oxnard, CA 93030 (805) 486-3776 (805) 486-6865 fax
California Legislature Passes Universal Health Care
Plan covers all Californians with comprehensive benefits, saves billions for employers and individuals, and guarantees consumer choice of doctors and hospitals
For Immediate Release: August 31, 2008 Contact: Sara Rogers (916) 651-4023
Sacramento - Senate Bill 840 (Kuehl), the California Universal Health Care Act, passed a final vote in the California State Senate today and will head to the Governor for his signature. SB 840 guarantees comprehensive health insurance coverage to every California resident, preserves a patients' right to choose their own doctors and hospitals, and saves consumers, employers, taxpayers, and state and local governments millions of dollars in health insurance costs.
"California needs universal health care because the old health care system is falling apart. SB 840 takes the money we're already spending and uses it more efficiently to cover everyone and to invest in quality improvements," Senator Kuehl stated. "We're wasting a third of our health care dollars on bureaucracy because insurance companies makes the system too complicated, premiums are skyrocketing and thousands of Californians are dying every year because of preventable medical errors. If the Governor again fails to sign this bill, our health care system will just continue its slide toward becoming a second world health care system."
"With the passage of SB 840, the Governor has an opportunity to lead the way out of the health care crisis that is devastating our families and our economy," said Assemblyman Mark Leno, a principle co-author of the legislation. "Our current system has driven up the cost of health care to the point where more than 7 million Californians can't afford coverage. We must do better."
SB 840 establishes a universal public insurance plan that builds upon California's existing private health care delivery system. SB 840 provides comprehensive medical, dental, vision, hospitalization and prescription drug coverage to every California resident. This broad coverage is made possible through a streamlined claims and reimbursement system, which has been repeatedly proven to save billions of dollars in administrative costs and other wasteful spending. SB 840 also allows California to use its purchasing power to negotiate bulk rates for prescription drugs and durable medical equipment, such as wheelchairs.
This bill is supported by a growing network of over 200 organizations across the state representing tens of thousands of nurses, doctors, and teachers; counties, cities and school districts; hospitals and businesses; school employees and medical and health profession students; community organizations and others. For a complete list visit www.senate.ca.gov/kuehl.
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