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The California Senate Just Passed Single-Payer Health Care

KSweeley

Member
Link: https://www.thenation.com/article/california-senate-just-passed-single-payer-healthcare/

June 2, 2017

The movement for single payer is for real, and it’s winning in California.

The state Senate voted 23 to 14 on Thursday in favor of SB 562, a single-payer proposal that would guarantee universal health care to all Californians. “What we did today was really approve the concept of a single-payer system in California,” declared state Senator Ricardo Lara, a key advocate for the bill, following the vote.

“California Senators have sent an unmistakable message today to every Californian and people across the nation,” declared RoseAnn DeMoro, the executive director of the California Nurses Association and National Nurses United, which led the fight for the “Healthy California Act.”

“We can act to end the nightmare of families who live in fear of getting sick and unable to get the care they need due to the enormous cost,” DeMoro continued. “We’ve shown that healthcare is not only a humanitarian imperative for the nation, it is politically feasible, and it is even the fiscally responsible step to take

That’s true. According to a review of a new NNU-sponsored study by the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst: “SB 562 would produce substantial savings for households in healthcare costs as a share of their income, and California businesses, which would also see reduced payroll costs for health care expenditures.”

The California proposal still must be approved by the California state Assembly and, eventually, by Governor Jerry Brown. Budget plans must be developed. The fight is far from over. But a hurdle has been cleared and DeMoro is right to say that: “This is a banner day for California, and a moral model for the nation.”

Link: http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-single-payer-explainer-20170601-htmlstory.html

How would this change how I get healthcare?

  • No more coverage through work or through federal public programs — it would all be in one state-subsidized plan.
  • Virtually all healthcare costs would be covered.

Whether you’re insured through an employer, through Covered California or on public programs such as Medi-Cal, as long as you’ve established California residency — regardless of legal immigration status — you would be enrolled in a single plan, which the bill’s backers call the “Healthy California” plan. That would eliminate the need for employer-provided plans and other commercial options.

Michael Lighty, policy director for the California Nurses Assn., put it bluntly: “You’ll never have to deal with an insurance company again.”

Benefits would be generous, including all inpatient and outpatient care, dental and vision care, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and prescription drugs. Patients would be able to see any healthcare provider of their choosing.
 

legacyzero

Banned
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gdt

Member
Is this as huge as it seems to be? Or is it just the first step?

Its a big step. But it isn't happening anytime soon. It's a long road.

But still this is such a good thing. Now they need to start the insane task of wrangling the insurance companies and healthcare providers all over the state. Which is the actual problem. The federal government too, maybe.
 
Could be a driving factor for people to california and see other states follow suit. Increased tax revenue and job creators? idk.

This sounds crazy, but the federal government basically crossing its arms and refusing to do anything might open up the states to take action and make things happen.
 

FlyinJ

Douchebag. Yes, me.
I've said it before:

We tried several times to give these mouth breathing fuck heads universal health care and they responded by calling us liberal pussies.

So let's just have it for ourselves and they can live in their libertarian neo Christian dystopia that they crave so dearly.

Fuck them, we tried.
 

Particle Physicist

between a quark and a baryon
What does this mean for insurance companies like Kaiser which is a very well run, not for profit insurer/hospital system/physician staffing group?
 

Metaroo

Member
I really hope that the costs make it feasible for other states to follow. This could be an incredible step forward if it works.
 
Lets keep the train rolling Fam. I really love how CA is basically bucking this administration on a pound for pound basis. If anyone can make a go of this system, in this climate, its California. My state man!
 

Foffy

Banned
Man, between this and California piloting Universal Basic Income, the state is looking to be perhaps the first one in America with 21st century policies being tested.

The question for both, of course, is if these are sustainable on a state or federal level.
 

Bleepey

Member
I've said it before:

We tried several times to give these mouth breathing fuck heads universal health care and they responded by calling us liberal pussies.

So let's just have it for ourselves and they can live in their libertarian neo Christian dystopia that they crave so dearly.

Fuck them, we tried.

Lol that's one way to look at it. Then the talking point will be California is rich enough to afford it!
 

GuyKazama

Member
A lot of California employers have great healthcare plans. If this gets implemented, it can drive talent out of the state. I don't see it happening.
 
Is this as huge as it seems to be? Or is it just the first step?

If it can get through the legislature, the governor and then we vote on it.

Then additional funding has to come from the federal government to allow us to use the Medicare funds for the entire system since it's all one system now.

So there's a few hurdles, all money related, of course.

The article covers a lot of the good questions. The important stuff at the bottom, retraining for those who lose their job, is important.

Once we eventually switch to single-payer, a shit ton of health insurance jobs are going to go out the window since it's a corrupt fucking industry. Those people will need new jobs.
 

Averon

Member
Can some explain me like I'm a child what are the differences between single-payer, Medicare for all, and the public option?
 

pelicansurf

Needs a Holiday on Gallifrey
California might as well be its own country at this point. This is awesome. I feel like it's just going to make it even more expensive to live there now, but we need someone to show off its success.
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
I didn't even realize this was on the docket. This is rather amazing and a big slap in the face of Trump, the GOP and every other asshole who doesn't support better healthcare for everyone.
 
Can't wait to see how much this ends up costing.
It will be interesting. Premiums now let's say for a single person through their employer is usually anywhere from $400-$700 a month for a standard PPO plan. North of $1000+ for a family.

I'd imagine that's a good chunk of change that could be converted into a state plan like this.
 
WTH, it includes dental care and vision care. That's better than Canada's. 😲

But this is more or less how the single payer ball got rolling in Canada. Saskatchewan implemented it first, the other provinces saw how well it was working, and it was implemented nation wide.
 

KSweeley

Member
Can some explain me like I'm a child what is the difference between single-payer, Medicare for all, and the public option?

Link: http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-single-payer-explainer-20170601-htmlstory.html

What is single payer? Is it the same thing as a “public option?”

  • Under a single-payer plan, the government replaces private insurance companies, paying doctors and hospitals for healthcare.
  • That’s different than a public option, in which the government offers an alternative to other insurance plans on the market.

It’s all in the name: In a single-payer system, one entity — in this case, the state of California — covers all the costs for its residents’ healthcare. Effectively, the government would step into the role that insurance companies play now, paying for all medically necessary care.

A number of countries, including Canada and the United Kingdom, have single-payer models. While there have been calls for a similar system in the United States for decades, the cause was energized by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign, which backed a “Medicare for all” healthcare system, modeled on the existing program for Americans aged 65 and older.

Other efforts to enact state-level single-payer systems have fallen flat. A 2011 program in Vermont was abandoned three years later due to financing concerns. Last year, voters in Colorado rejected a ballot initiative to create such a program.

The California bill bears the imprints of Sanders’ campaign — and of the California Nurses Assn., which has long pressed for a single-payer plan. It has become a rallying cry for the progressive flank of the Democratic party.

“The model here is not the United Kingdom or Canada,” said Darius Lakdawalla, a health economist at University of Southern California. “The model here is Medicare.”

The proposal is different than a “public option,” in which the government subsidizes an insurance plan that competes with private insurers. A public option was debated in the run-up to passage of the Affordable Care Act, but ultimately not included. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi recently returned to the concept, telling California Democrats at their convention in May, “I believe California can lead the way for America by creating a strong public option.”
 

Foffy

Banned
California might as well be its own country at this point. This is awesome. I feel like it's just going to make it even more expensive to live there now, but we need someone to show off its success.

California alone could be considered the 5th largest economy on Earth, IIRC.
 

kirblar

Member
Man, between this and California piloting Universal Basic Income, the state is looking to be perhaps the first one in America with 21st century policies being tested.

The question for both, of course, is if these are sustainable on a state or federal level.
The extra danger w/ California: Propositions throwing a barerl of monkeys throwing wrenches into everything.
 
If it can get through the legislature, the governor and then we vote on it.

Then additional funding has to come from the federal government to allow us to use the Medicare funds for the entire system since it's all one system now.

So there's a few hurdles, all money related, of course.

The article covers a lot of the good questions. The important stuff at the bottom, retraining for those who lose their job, is important.

Once we eventually switch to single-payer, a shit ton of health insurance jobs are going to go out the window since it's a corrupt fucking industry. Those people will need new jobs.

Alot of the funding can come from Marijuana. In fact I would be surprised if marijuana sales tax doesn't end up funding single payer in some form here in CA.
 

Raging Spaniard

If they are Dutch, upright and breathing they are more racist than your favorite player
As someone who pays a stupid amount of money for healthcare in California ($600+) this would actually stop me from moving to another state. One can only hope it gets implemented.
 
If it can get through the legislature, the governor and then we vote on it.

Then additional funding has to come from the federal government to allow us to use the Medicare funds for the entire system since it's all one system now.

So there's a few hurdles, all money related, of course.

The article covers a lot of the good questions. The important stuff at the bottom, retraining for those who lose their job, is important.

Once we eventually switch to single-payer, a shit ton of health insurance jobs are going to go out the window since it's a corrupt fucking industry. Those people will need new jobs.
I would imagine that some of those people will be poached by the government as it looks to staff up for the single payer program.
 

SpecX

Member
What does this mean for insurance companies like Kaiser which is a very well run, not for profit insurer/hospital system/physician staffing group?

I haven't had Kaiser in forever, but when I did they were fucking terrible. Only being able to use their facilities and the approvals for everything as well as what the Dr's had to go through caused one of my mom's friends to die since they couldn't get a CT scan approved to detect her headaches were from her bleeding from the brain.
 
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