By Daily Press staff
A bill introduced by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, (D-Santa Monica), that would reform state health care by establishing a single payer health care system for all California residents at no new cost to the state, has passed the Senate Floor on a vote of 23-14.
SB 921, also known as the Health Care for All Californians Act, will now move to the Assembly.
SB 921 could potentially shift more than $22 billion, now being used to pay for duplicative health care administrative costs, into direct health care services through a streamlined claims and reimbursement system, administered by the state.
The plan also would increase provider reimbursements, require bulk purchasing of pharmaceuticals, reduce reliance on the use of emergency rooms as primary health care and provide every Californian access to their own primary care physician.
This reform would make it possible to provide every Californian with a health plan that includes medical, dental, mental health, prescription medication and durable medical equipment coverage while insuring every consumer the freedom to choose his or her health care providers, Kuehl’s office says.
Premiums and other out-of-pocket expenses, would be replaced with a low-percentage, means-based income and payroll tax that together are lower than average health insurance premiums. Health care provision would remain private and subject to competition. Physicians, hospitals and other health care providers would be empowered to negotiate their rates of reimbursement directly with the state through their own professional organizations, Kuehl says.
“It is time for California to address the gross waste and inefficiency that characterizes our current health care system,” she said. “We spend more than twice as much on health care as any other industrialized nation, but have millions of uninsured and, generally, much less coverage. In addition, under the current system, if you lose your job, you lose your coverage. We don’t need to spend more, we need to spend more efficiently in order to insure that every Californian is covered and every physician is paid fairly and on time.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 7, 2003. Read the original PDF.