SB921 (Kuehl), the Health Care For All Californians Act, a landmark healthcare reform declaring the intent of the legislature to establish a single payer health care system for all California residents at no new cost to the state, passed the California Senate Floor Wednesday morning on a vote of 23 to 14. The bill now moves to the State Assembly.
“The California Health Care Options Project completed last year demonstrated that comprehensive health care coverage could be provided for everyone at a cost lower than that of our current inefficient and inadequate system,” explains Don McCanne, president of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP.)
“In SB 921, Sen. Sheila Kuehl has provided the legislative vehicle to enact a single payer system that would finally bring affordable health care to all.”
The California Physicians Alliance(CAPA), the state chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program are active in speaking and writing articles about the need for health care reform in the state.
If you’re interested in supporting single payer health care in California, please contact the California Physicians Alliance at capa@jps.net or call (510) 832-7134.
Note:This bill is, in effect, a committment by the legislature to continue to study the issue, keeping the possibility for reform open, but not making single payer a certainty by any means. Stay tuned and if you live in California, please join the struggle for reform.