Like many Americans who were optimistic at the prospect of genuine health care reform, I am disappointed that U.S. legislators have excluded a public option. Their idea of so-called reform is to force people to purchase health insurance.
I thought the whole point of President Obama”s call for health care reform was that people couldn”t afford health insurance. I thought that people”s opinions would be listened to: otherwise, why would I have gone to a meeting held Dec. 28, 2008 in which the majority of people present advocated single-payer health insurance offering comprehensive coverage?
Why else would I have submitted my input for a similar meeting that was held online?
Both meetings were conducted, I might add, by request of the U.S. government.
U.S. politicians completely disregarded this groundswell of public opinion that demanded single-payer care. They chose instead to enact legislation that benefits health insurers by giving them a captive clientele. I now fail to see how this situation is in any way improved — except that people are now forced to buy something they still cannot afford.
Fortunately, legislators in California are far more in touch with the will of the people.
The California Senate recently voted 22 to 14 to pass Senate Bill 810, the California Universal Health Care Act. Authored by State Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), SB 810 would enact a system of comprehensive, universal health care for every Californian. It must now clear the California assembly and be signed into law by the governor.
Why do I want universal single-payer care? Because I have a contract with society. I invest the taxes that I pay toward a common public good: public schools, public libraries, fire and police protection.
Besides, I”m just plain selfish.
I will benefit when the people around me are as healthy as they can be. For one thing, I won”t be exposed to their germs. I won”t have them coughing in my face.
If a co-worker obtains health care immediately, his or her time off work will be of far shorter duration than if he or she postpones care until too sick to do otherwise. I will have far less work to make up while my co-worker is out sick.
Local government would benefit too, from significant savings.
In 2007, another bill before the California legislature proposed a 3.78 -percent income tax to fund universal health care. Employers would have paid a tax of 8.17 percent against employees” wages.
A memorandum from Kelly Cox, our county administrator, projected a 52-percent reduction in costs to Lake County”s general fund: $3.2 million in health care costs at the time versus $1.5 million in costs under the bill that was being proposed.
SB 840 didn”t work out but with SB 810 now in the capitol, Californians have an opportunity to demand the genuine health care reform that our federal legislators failed to provide. By focusing our efforts on state legislation, we can relegate the so-called national reform to its justified irrelevance.
Cynthia Parkhill is the focus pages editor for the record-Bee and editor of the Clear Lake Observer American. She can be contacted at ObserverAmerican@gmail.com or 263-5636 ext. 39.
