On Thursday, the California State Senate passed legislation that would guarantee comprehensive, universal health care to all Californians. The California Universal Health Care Act (SB 810) would create a Medicare-style private-public partnership to provide every California resident medical, dental, vision, hospitalization and prescription drug benefits and allows patients to choose their own doctors and hospitals. The bill is nearly identical to legislation (SB 840), which was passed by the California Legislature in 2008 and subsequently vetoed by Gov. Schwarzenegger.
With the future of federal health care reform still up in the air, the state cannot hesitate to pass its own reform to provide immediate relief and decent coverage to California families. Currently, California spends $200 billion annually on a fragmented, inefficient health care system that wastes 30% of every dollar on administration. With SB 810, that wasteful spending is eliminated, and studies show that the state would save $8 billion in the first year under SB 810.
