Can you say 'exodus' ?
Posted on 02/24/2005 4:59:24 PM PST by Nachum
At 11 a.m. on Wednesday, February 23, on the South Steps of the California State Capitol, State Senator Sheila Kuehl (D-23) announced her introduction of SB 840 the California Health Insurance Reliability Act (CHIRA) to the California Legislature. Senate Pro Tempore Don Perata has joined as a co-author as have Senator Deborah Ortiz, chair of the Senate Health Committee and Assemblymember Wilma Chan, chair of the Assembly Health Committee who are both principle co-authors. The bill will cover every Californian with comprehensive health insurance and guarantee their right to choose their own physician, while containing healthcare cost inflation. By slashing the administrative costs of health insurance and utilizing California’s purchasing power to buy prescription drugs and medical equipment in bulk, CHIRA will save an estimated $25 billion, in the first year alone, in statewide healthcare spending. Senator Kuehl was joined by principle co-authors, Senator Deborah Ortiz, Chair of the Senate Health Committee and Assemblymember Wilma Chan, Chair of the Assembly Health Committee.
CHIRA is based on a model put forward, in a study released this January, by the Lewin Group, an independent firm with 18 years of experience in healthcare cost analysis. Senator Kuehl, along with State Senate President Pro Tempore, Don Perata, helped to present the report, on January 19, at which time Senator Kuehl pledged to bring legislation based on its findings.
According to the Lewin model, it is possible to insure all state residents with full coverage that includes medical, dental, vision, hospitalization and prescription drug benefits, and that is based on a high standard for quality, by streamlining the process of reimbursement. Means-based premiums, assessed according to income and payroll, would replace all premiums, deductibles, co-pays and out of pocket expenses. The vast majority of individuals, families and businesses that pay for insurance would save money while receiving better coverage. “Everybody knows that healthcare costs are out of control. The system is broken and tinkering won’t fix it,” said Senator Kuehl. “We’re beyond the point of cosmetic surgery. What we need is a cure.”
“Half of the personal bankruptcies in this country are related to medical expenses,” the Senator continued, “and most of the people bankrupted have insurance when they get sick. Californians just can’t rely on their insurance when they get sick or injured. There are too many holes and deductibles in the plans they buy, and if they lose their job, they lose their benefits.”
A new report from Boston University concluded that about 50% of health care spending is wasted on unnecessary clinical and administrative costs, insurance company profits, and excessive pharmaceutical prices in the U.S. Spending on health care now consumes about 15.5% of our nation’s projected economic growth (GDP), yet Americans are not receiving superior health care. “We don’t need to spend more”, stated Senator Kuehl, “we need to be much more efficient with the statewide healthcare budget we already have and now we have the evidence to show that we can do it.”
“With more than 6 million uninsured Californians and health insurance premiums growing at double-digit rates, we must find a way to provide all Californians with affordable and safe health care coverage,” said Senate Health Committee Chair Deborah Ortiz, D-Sacramento. “I believe Sen. Kuehl’s single-payer legislation provides a sound plan for crafting comprehensive healthcare coverage, especially for the uninsured and those who cannot afford spiraling medical and prescription drug costs.”
Said Assemblymember Chan, “Health care premiums continue to rise; the number of working Californians without health insurance continues to grow. We need a health plan that covers all Californians, promotes quality, preserves choice, and costs less. The California Health Insurance Reliability Act does all that.”
The "Single Payer" monster rears its ugly head in California once more. It was defeated in the initiative process once before. Let's see if Governor Arnold is conservative or a RINO. FReepers need to be concerned about what happens in California as it represents approximately one seventh of the US economy.
Shiela Kuehl need to be FReeped. Now.
(Denny Crane: "There are two places to find the truth. First God and then Fox News.")
This is the standard big government advocate con job. "We'll save all this money and everyone will be covered!"
Some questions might be:
1. What about illegals?
2. What happens when these expected savings don't materialize? Who will pay for this?
3. How will costs be controlled when there is no longer competition?
Sounds like fun to me.
Guess we'll stay in California and let the liberals pay for our health care and drive the State into total bankruptcy.
(Denny Crane: "There are two places to find the truth. First God and then Fox News.")
There ya go. Means-based. Another term for "redistribution of income".
The really fun part is that my husband and I don't have enough taxable income to be taxed to pay for this free health care they are going to dole out to us.
I wonder if our poor Latino workers will enjoy paying for this gringo's health care.
(Denny Crane: "There are two places to find the truth. First God and then Fox News.")
This is great news. I am delighted.
The semantic equivalent of Lewin's boast is that California asks: "Send me your poor, your lazy, your infirm, your useless. Come to California and get free everything. We will make the rich pay for it all (like the liberal Hollywood types). You don't need 'means'. You don't need to work. You just need to use our medical services."
I sincerely hope they pass this and bankrupt the state. It should provide an excellent object lesson about socialized medicine. What the stupid liberals don't understand is that it is Medicaid, Medicare, and the tax exempt status of health care premiums that is pushing up health costs. They are going in exactly the wrong direction.
But maybe if California goes bankrupt, the rest of the country will understand.
WOW
Shiela Kuehl
Zelda from the old Dobie Gillis. Now there is a piece of work. She has aged poorly. She has more Chins than a Shanghi phonebook and the disposition of a scorpion.
This lesbian declared herself the expert on children of divorced parents and was instrumental in ramming through SB 370 that turned my kids into profit centers in the 90's. Even with custody of my sons this HAG made sure I paid 25% of my before taxes income to my X. The boys and I lived poorly for quite some time over that one.
I used up at least three minutes of my 15 minutes of fame in Sacramento one summer when I got into a three way shoving contest between myself, Willie Brown and Hagatha.
What a blast from the past
best regards
the dozer
(Denny Crane: "There are two places to find the truth. First God and then Fox News.")
It'd be a good lesson to them if we conservatives all lined up and sucked the system dry.
Well, of course. That goes without saying.
Can you say "Kalifornia Kare"
My brother solved the raise taxes on the rich problem by moving to Texas 13 years ago, taking his six figure income with him to a State with no income tax.
Many more will follow suit if Arnold doesn't veto this monstrosity.
But if it passes, I will happily limp up to the line to sign up. LOL!
The Anglo reconquista begins....
What's the liberal answer to impending bankruptcy? Why, start a new welfare program and quadruple your spending! That's the ticket.
I wonder how much he has scared the union thugs. First the nursing union "spontaneously" is up in arms over arnold's policies and now "spontaneously" communist medical care rears its head.
There is no way in H*LL any new business would DARE approach CF.
Start funding stem cell research to the tune of 300 million a year for thirty years?
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