Protecting Children, Families
A CTA-backed measure that aims to implement a cost-effective health care system covering all Californians has gained the approval of the Senate and has moved to the Assembly for further action.
SB 921 by Assembly Member Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) would put the Legislature on record as favoring a universal health care system that would be supported by state funding. However, the measure contains no specific provisions to implement the plan this legislative year.
The measure includes "legislative findings" that incorporate shocking statistics about the state's unmet health care needs:
- During 2001, 3.6 million Californians had no health insurance coverage. And more than 6 million Californians lacked health insurance coverage for some period of time during that year.
- Since 2001, the number of uninsured Californians has risen significantly.
- More than 10 million Californians have no coverage for prescription drugs.
- Efforts to control health care costs and growth of health care spending have been unsuccessful.
- Employers, retirement funds, and unions that offer and negotiate for health insurance and benefits and individuals who purchase health insurance are experiencing substantial increases in health care costs and decreases in health care benefits.
- Unstable and unaffordable rate increases have caused significant economic hardship for California residents and their employers.
- Nearly 63 percent of all personal bankruptcies in the United States are the result of health care costs.
- Health access disparities exist by region, ethnicity, income, and gender.
- Eleven of California's rural counties have no health maintenance organizations that provide coverage to the county on a countywide basis and 21 rural counties no longer have a Medicare+Choice HMO.
- More than 80 percent of all Medi-Cal and uninsured patient visits to emergency facilities are for conditions that could have been treated in a non-emergency setting.
- Emergency departments and trauma centers face growing financial losses.
- Health care consumers and health care providers express significant professional dissatisfaction with the current health care systems.
- The California Medical Association reported more than $540 million in uncompensated health care costs during 2001. Uncompensated health care has caused 60 emergency departments - 15 percent of the departments in the state - to close since 1990.
CTA Members
Contact Assembly members and ask them to support SB 921.