Democrats in the California State Senate passed a single-payer universal health-care bill Thursday, despite threats of a veto from the governor.
The purpose of the bill is to make sure that health care is in the hands of health-care providers versus private insurers, said Christine Thang, chair of Legislation Action Affairs Committee within the American Medical Student Association.
The law will now be taken up in the California Assembly before going to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Similar versions of the reform have made it to the governor’s desk in the past, and they were all vetoed.
The passage of the bill comes just 17 days after approximately 100 American Medical Student Association students from UCLA rallied in Sacramento in support of the bill alongside other campuses and organizations.
At the rally, dubbed Lobby Day, students spoke with legislators directly, asked questions about the bill and encouraged senators to vote for the bill, Thang said.
It was at lobby day that Jonathan Lyons, event coordinator for the Legislative Action Affairs Committee within the organization, said he became more skeptical of the large reform being sought.
“To be honest, I was more supportive of the bill before lobby day. We asked a lot of tough questions during lobby day, and they didn’t have all the answers,” said Lyons. “I support the idea of universal health care, but this bill needs to be reformed before it’s the plan for California.”
On the Senate floor, Sen. Sam Aanestad, R-Grass Valley, said California couldn’t pay for another expensive social service, and that the bill would expand upon California’s already burgeoning deficit.
Aanestad added that he predicted democrats would be voted out of office if the bill were to pass.
Thang, a third-year year physiological science student, said it is high time for reform, as America has been ranked 37th by the World Health Organization on the list of industrialized nations’ health care efficiency.
The bill, proposed by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would according to Leno’s presentation on the Senate floor, use the existing $200 billion California already spends on health care and transition it toward a health-care system that eliminates private insurers.
Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Santa Monica, who represents the district which includes UCLA, also spoke on the Senate floor in support of the bill.
“This is a major step towards providing health care for all Californians, as well as reducing health-care costs for small businesses and making our state’s economy more competitive worldwide,” Pavley said, in an e-mailed statement. “Health insurance reform is critical to easing the middle class squeeze burdening families in this economy.”
Pavley also drew attention to the growing number of Americans who are uninsured.
“The most visible sign of the need for health care reform is the 46 million Americans currently without health insurance. In the absence of reform, projections suggest that this number will rise to about 72 million in 2040,” Pavley said.
If Democrats want the support of the Republicans in the California legislature, incremental change would be better than a sudden shift into universal health care, Lyons said.
Thang said she recognizes that the bill has its share of problems and detractors.
“It’s not perfect, but it’s a solution to a problem we clearly have,” she said.