1. CMS projections for health spending – 2005 (Don McCanne)
2. The California Health Insurance Reliability Act (CHIRA)
(Don McCanne)
3. What is CHIRA? (Don McCanne)
Health Affairs
February 23, 2005
U.S. Health Spending Projections For 2004-2014
By Stephen Heffler, Sheila Smith, Sean Keehan, Christine Borger, M. Kent Clemens, and Christopher Truffer
Projected National Health Expenditures (NHE) for 2005:
$1,936.5 billion – Total NHE
$6,423.1 – NHE per capita
15.6% – NHE as percent of GDP
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/hlthaff.w5.74
Comment: These numbers are from the Office of the Actuary, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). These are very useful numbers for your advocacy work since they represent what we are spending this year on health
care, qualified as “CMS projections for 2005.”
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Message: 2
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005
Subject: The California Health Insurance Reliability Act (CHIRA)
California State Senate
SB 840, The California Health Insurance Reliability Act (CHIRA)Introduced by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, February 22, 2005
For the bill, at this link in the block “House:” enter “Senate” and then for “Bill number:” enter “840”
http://info.sen.ca.gov/cgi-bin/pagequery?type=sen_bilinfo&site=sen&title=Bill+Information
Comment: Many will be curious about the funding. The bill describes the intent of utilizing funds that are currently directed to other government programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP. But under “Article 2. Revenues” it merely states “(Reserved).”
California has a requirement that any new tax requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate and in the Assembly. This statement from Sen. Kuehl’s press release suggests her strategy: “Means-based premiums, assessed according to income and payroll, would replace all premiums, deductibles, co-pays and out of pocket expenses.”
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Message: 3
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005
Subject: What is CHIRA?
CHIRA, The California Health Insurance Reliability Act, SB 840, is Sen.Sheila Kuehl’s single payer bill for the state of California.