Activists for universal health care were enthusiastic after more than a dozen Mendocino Coast residents turned out to tell their health care nightmare stories on Saturday, supporting the notion that all Californians should have health care.
With the passage of a “universal health care” bill on Monday, the local stories will be part of an effort that some critics believe could move the idea of health care for the 7 million uninsured Californians from daydream to reality.
The “Health Care for All” event, sponsored by OneCareNow, is part of an effort to gather stories in 365 different communities over 365 days, culminating in a massive bus convoy followed by a demonstration in Sacramento on Aug. 19, 2007 to support single-payer health care coverage in California. The stories will be gathered and shared around the state and in Sacramento, said OneCareNow organizer Mike Smith.
The OneCareNow campaign will be holding an event in Willits Sept. 14 at the United Methodist Church at 6 p.m. Each event in each city will be different, and each hopes to alert a community about how bad the health care crisis has become.
“Some events are marches, some are vigils, some put on a big deal with music, some we will be out on the corner holding signs,” said Smith, who is a trustee on the Sonoma Valley District Hospital Board. He told the local audience that the financially-troubled Mendocino Coast District Hospital could save a lot of money on insurance costs if single-payer health insurance became a reality in California, as it is in several other countries, such as Canada and England.
Smith said his hospital loses millions on uninsured and underinsured patients, money that would not be lost in a system where everyone can get health insurance through a system similar to Medicare.
“I am sure this district hospital has a high rate of that too,” he said.
The amended single payer bill, SB840, the California Health Insurance Reliability Act, passed the Assembly on Monday and is headed to the desk of the governor by Sept. 1. A campaign to lobby the governor to sign the bill is under way but all sides expect a veto, according to Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters and other pundits.
“This is a truly historic vote — the first time in the history of California that a concrete proposal for universal health insurance reform is poised to pass both houses of the Legislature and be placed for signature on the governor”s desk,” said a press release from OneCareNow.
The idea has been around for many years, but organizers say the extent of problems caused by the private insurance companies may finally have become so bad that the idea could actually be reality next year, even without the governor”s help.
At OneCareNow”s Saturday afternoon session at the Harbor Lite Lodge in Fort Bragg, people shared their stories, ranging from the shenanigans of insurance companies to terrifying cracks in the system that anyone can fall into. There were stories from people with rotting teeth who can”t get treatment and from retired teachers and county workers no longer able to afford the care they hoped they had earned, who were suffering as a result. Many of the stories were personal and somewhat confidential, and not everyone gave their names.
Frannie Leopold of Caspar “was unfortunate to get cancer about five years ago. My insurance such as it was didn”t cover any laboratory work or any doctor visits or any of the workups I needed,” she said.
She ended up paying three times the cost of health care that would have been charged if she had insurance.
“We have the resources to fund this health care bill,” she said.
Mendocino Coast Clinics provide health care coverage for many people who fall into the cracks of the state health care system, said Linda Jupiter of Caspar.
She now pays $870 per month with a $2,000 deductible for insurance she describes as “low to mediocre coverage.” She hopes that SB840 will succeed and help her land eye care and dental coverage with no deductible as promised.
Nancy Milano described how when a family member got sick, that person also had to spend down all their money in order to qualify for aid.
“In order for her to receive care, she wouldn”t have anything left when she got out of the hospital,” Milano said.
Retired teacher Val Muchowski told how she had good insurance to cover her cancer until she retired and was forced into Medicare programs at age 65. She detailed the arduous and expensive task of paying for that health insurance.
“I am covered by all the insurances I have patched together … So many people in our state are not covered and it is very important that everybody be covered,” Muchowski said.
Organizers Pat and Richard Karch will continue to take local health care stories at pkarch@mcn.org and rkarch@mcn.org and at the Mendocino Coast Democratic Club headquarters in the old Redwood Cookhouse on Redwood Street, Fort Bragg.
“I was very happy with the turnout considering that Great Day in Elk was happening and also the Living Light event,” Pat Karch said.
As amended and passed, SB840 is funded by drawing in current public spending as well as replacing the premiums, co-pays and deductibles paid to insurance companies with premiums paid to the system. The bill calls on a blue-ribbon panel of health, finance and technical experts to develop the premiums.
Even if Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoes the bill, the issue may gain strength, as his opponent, Democrat Phil Angelides, supports universal health insurance and has attacked the governor for not following through on promises to provide health care solutions. The governor has slammed his opponent as a big tax and spender.
Universal health care has been gaining ground steadily over the years with California voters, Walters reported.
Twelve years ago, by a 3-1 margin, California”s voters rejected a Canadian-style universal health care ballot measure that the California Medical Association proposed. Two years ago by just 1.6 percentage points, they nullified another stab at universal health care, centered on employer mandates.
To see the amended text of SB840, go to: http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/bill/sen/sb_0801-0850/sb_840_bill_20060807_amended_asm.html.
For information on how to contact the governor or to find out about the 365 campaign, go to http://www.healthcareforall.org.
MCTV is scheduled to play the stories gathered at Health Care For All on Monday, Sept. 4 at 10 a.m. and Tuesday, Sept. 5 at 7 p.m.
