By Len Feldman
Teachers and other public employees are increasingly being confronted with rapidly rising health care costs during contract negotiations. Employees are fighting hard to maintain their current coverage without additional out-of-pocket costs.
A CTA-backed bill pending in the Legislature may be just what the doctor ordered. SB 840, sponsored by Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica), would create a single-payer health plan that could reduce costs by as much as $20 billion annually, according to one report.
SB 840 has cleared the state Senate and is under consideration in the Assembly.
Currently, public and private workers and consumers are covered by a vast array of public and private insurers. Kuehl's bill would consolidate the functions of those insurance companies into one comprehensive insurance plan, eliminating duplicative administrative services and taking advantage of economies of scale.
The California Health Insurance Reliability Act would allow participants to choose their own doctors and service providers. Health care coverage would remain in effect even if participants changed jobs, became self-employed, went back to school or changed residences.
The plan would guarantee eligibility for all state residents. It would be administered by a new state entity that would have the power to negotiate reduced prices for health care services.
According to Kuehl, the bill would require no new spending on health care. It would be paid for with federal, state and county funds already being spent on health care, as well as by affordable premiums that would take the place of current high premiums, deductibles, out-of-pocket costs, and co-pays now burdening workers, consumers and employers.
