Urge Your Rep to Join Out of Iraq! Caucus

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SUpport Universal Health Care for California

Encourage business owners to sign a petition in support of

single-payer health care: http://ga1.org/campaign/businessesforhealthcare

Fax an Organizational Letter of Support

to State Senator Sheila Kuehl,  Athor of SB840

Organizational letters must be on official letterhead. 

(date), 2005

Senator Sheila Kuehl

State Capitol, Room 5108

Sacramento, CA  95814

Fax: (916) 324-4823

Re: Support for SB 840 (Kuehl)

Dear Senator Kuehl:

I am writing to express my organization's support for SB 840, the California Health Insurance Reliability Act, which will cover every Californian with comprehensive health insurance and give them the ability to choose their own physician.  This model is estimated to save $8 billion, in the first year alone, in statewide healthcare spending, and will save money for families, businesses, individuals and local governments.

Over 6.5 million Californians, or more than 20% of the state’s population, went without insurance in 2003.  That’s one in every five Californians.  As health insurance costs skyrocket at double digit rates every year, employers are now reducing coverage and dropping benefits altogether.  The increase in high-risk “catastrophic” health plans, with unaffordable deductibles and co-payments, have completely failed to stem the rise in costs.   Instead, half of all bankruptcies in the United States are now related to medical costs and ¾ of those bankrupted families had health insurance at the time they became ill or injured.   The simple truth is that average Californians can no longer rely on their health insurance when they become ill or injured. 

The United States spends twice as much per person as every other industrialized country on health care, yet we are the only industrialized nation where people go bankrupt because of medical costs.  We have fewer physicians per capita than many other industrialized countries, and fewer hospital visits.  Most importantly, our health care system ranks at the bottom of industrialized nations, according to the World Health Organization.   All that money hasn’t bought us better health care, so where is it going?

A recent Boston University study found that our current system wastes nearly 50% of all health spending on clinical and administrative waste.  It is estimated that, by streamlining the administrative functions of thousands of different insurance companies, California could shift $20 billion in the first year from administration into direct health care.  Also, by consolidating California’s purchasing power for pharmaceuticals, California could shift an additional $5.3 billion into direct health care.  Finally, by providing preventative and primary care to everyone California could actually save an additional $3.4 billion in the first year.

CHIRA will affordably cover every Californian with a high quality of care and comprehensive benefits.  Every Californian will be covered by an insurance plan that provides medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage, including hospitalization, emergency room care and transportation, laboratory work, skilled nursing care, mental health care, drug addiction rehabilitation and chiropractic care.

Californians want access to this kind of high-quality, affordable health care.  Most importantly, they want a health care system that they can rely on.  CHIRA gives every Californian reliable health insurance along with freedom of choice.  Please take a stand in support of real health reform.

My membership strongly supports SB 840.

Sincerely,

(your name)

(your position)

(your organization)

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