Attention, Please: We Can Guarantee Healthcare for All Californians
(COMMON DREAMS) Deborah Burger, April 26, 2017 — With continued uncertainty in Washington over the fate of the Affordable Care Act, California has a unique role to play in charting a new path on health care reform – legislation that would guarantee coverage for all Californians, at much lower cost.
SB 562, the Healthy California Act, introduced by state Senators Ricardo Lara and Toni Atkins, with the California Nurses Association as lead proponent, will receive its first legislative hearing Wednesday, April 26 before the Senate Health Committee.
Excitement over the proposed law is already escalating around the state. Scores of nurses and healthcare activists have held multiple town halls, rallies, marches, and engaged in conventional lobbying including neighborhood canvassing and calls to legislators.
The bill is certainly timely even with the ACA and the improvements it has achieved, especially in reducing the number of uninsured, still on the books.
A new series in the medical journal The Lancet offers reminders of what is an ongoing health crisis for many.
“SB 562 ends the nightmare of going broke due to price gouging healthcare corporations or having to choose between feeding your family or going to the doctor when you are sick.”
Nationally, the percentage of Americans without coverage has fallen from 16 percent of the population to 9 percent, mostly as a result of the expansion of Medicaid. But 28 million people are still insured, with ongoing racial disparities, 14 percent of African Americans and 28 percent of Latinos.
Big coverage disparities also continue based on income, 25 percent of the most low- income people compared to less than 8 percent of the “non-poor.”
That illustrates perhaps the biggest shortcoming of the ACA – the failure to adequately control out of pocket costs, from rising premiums to skyrocketing deductibles and co-pays.