California Single-Payer Bill SB 840 Passes First 2008 Legislative Hurdle in Assembly

Sen. Sheila Kuehl's single-payer bill, SB 840, passed its first legislative test of 2008 in a hearing Wednesday morning before the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

With the support of the committee, the bill next goes into the Assembly's legislative suspense process where other bills are also lodged pending resolution of the state budget.

The California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, the principal sponsor of the bill, said today that it is confident the bill will achieve full legislative approval this year to reach another showdown in the fall with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger who vetoed an earlier version of the bill in 2006.

"SB 840 is the only healthcare reform in California which will solve the distress facing California families," said Malinda Markowitz, RN, a CNA/NNOC co-president. "The governor spent much of last year stating a commitment to healthcare reform. We will remind him that is why he should sign SB 840."

In today's hearing, SB 840 had broad support from a wide spectrum of nurses, doctors, labor, healthcare activists, and consumer groups, including CNA/NNOC, the California Physicians Alliance, California School Employees Association, League of Women Voters, Health Care for All-California, California Labor Federation, California Church IMPACT, and major seniors' organizations including the AARP, California Congress of Seniors, and California Association of Retired Americans.

The insurance industry, California Chamber of Commerce, and California Taxpayers Association opposed the bill.

Addressing the committee, CNA/NNOC legislative director Donna Gerber noted that SB 840 is the only reform that will rein in the insurance industry that is the source of the present crisis with its care denials and ever-skyrocketing charges. It's an industry "that cannot be regulated," she said.

Gerber cited the recent Los Angeles Times report that Anthem Blue Cross is refusing to pay $1 million in fines for illegal rescissions of insurance policies – dropping coverage for patients when they get sick, and "we will soon see the same story for Blue Shield and Health Net."

"All Californians—insured, underinsured, and uninsured—are waiting.  More delay means Californians will die while waiting for help.  It also means costs will continue to skyrocket.  There is no greater policy or fiscal decision in the Legislature than this one," Gerber said, adding CNA/NNOC's thanks to Sen. Kuehl for her unstinting leadership for real healthcare reform.