(The difference between winning and losing in 2010 isn’t the mushy middle. The difference is the base. And this is a good start. – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

California’s Senate Appropriations Cmte passed Mark Leno’s SB 810 out of committee, and the Senate will vote on it next week.  (UPDATE: make that this week.  Started this diary on weekend.)  Leno says that the timing is coincidental and not a response to the Brown debacle, but it works for me.  SB 810 would create a single-payer, universal health care system in California.

You’ll be shocked to learn that Republicans are framing this as Democrats Out of Touch, and it’s possible that SB810’s supporters will get wobbly.  Two things need to happen:

Call the California Senators Calderon, Correa, and Wright and let them know that saving the state billions in waste and fraud is still politically viable – contact info on the flip.

Push back on the corporate narrative – talking points and media links on the flip.

Attack attack attack.  If you’re not a constituent, call them anyway.  Let them know that California can show the rest of the country that Democrats understand we want universal healthcare.

Action Alert on SB 810 (Leno) Single Payer Universal Health Care Bill

from California School Employees Association (full disclosure, this is my employer)

<[The] … single payer universal health care system in California, SB 810, is up for a crucial vote in the Senate this week and we need your help.

SB 810 is real health care reform that we desperately need in California. It would provide affordable, comprehensive health care to all Californians and would allow them to choose their own doctors.  Under this bill, nobody could be denied coverage because they had a pre-existing condition, and they would not lose their coverage if they changed jobs or went away to college.

SB 810 will be voted on by the full state Senate in the coming days.  We need your help in contacting three Senators whose vote may be important to the passage of SB 810.

Please make sure you use the following points when you contact the following two Senators:



• Thank you for your prior support of single payer universal health care.

• SB 810 is the new single payer bill and will come before you for a vote on the Senate Floor in the coming days.

• SB 810 is true health care reform that will cover every Californian and provides us comprehensive, affordable and quality health care.

• I am asking you to continue to support single payer health care and vote “YES” on SB 810.

Senator Ron Calderon (Montebello)

Phone: 916-651-4030

Email: [email protected]    

Senator Lou Correa (Santa Ana)

Phone: 916-651-4034

Email: [email protected]

For Senator Wright the message is:

• I am asking you to vote for SB 810 that would create a single payer universal health care system in California.

• This bill will come before you for a vote on the Senate Floor in the coming days.

• SB 810 is true health care reform that will cover every Californian and provides us comprehensive, affordable and quality health care.

• We need this bill and we need it now.  Please vote “YES” on SB 810.

Senator Rod Wright (Los Angeles)

Phone: 916-651-4025

Email: [email protected]

This final push in the Senate is very important to the passage of SB 810 and keeping real health care reform efforts alive in California.  Thank you!

OK, you’ve taken care of the legislators.  On to the media:

Articles on SB810 here, here, and here.

Ammo for your blog or Letter to the Editor:

I am writing to respond to your recent article on the passage of single payer universal health care in the California Legislature.

It’s about time that someone stood up to the insurance companies and banks and I am thankful that there are some legislators in Sacramento standing up for the people by standing up to insurance companies.  

The real reason average people are so upset about health reform is that we want our elected representatives to listen to us instead of insurance company lobbyists who have run our health care system into the ground.

I have watched as health insurance companies raise our premiums, impose huge co-payments and deductibles and then lower our coverage at the same time.  Health care is now an unaffordable luxury for middle class America, and we are losing jobs to Canada because our health care costs are so much higher.

I am tired of paying twice as much as every other nation for health care while we live at the mercy of heartless insurance companies who take 30% off the top and then deny us care whenever they can.  It’s time to get rid of the insurance company middleman.

California legislators need to listen to the voices of millions of Californians who have no health coverage.  California legislators need to listen to the voices of millions more who have insurance but can’t access it because of growing deductibles, co-payments or other insurance company games.  

I urge California legislators to support the California Universal Health Care Act.  The people are desperate for true courageous leadership on health reform.

Other suggestions:

California’s budget crisis is directly linked to rising health care costs.  Health care for teachers, police officers, firefighters, transit workers face annual increases that are much higher than wages.  Do the math!

SB 810 is a public private partnership where everyone pays into a universal health care plan and then everyone chooses their own private doctors and hospitals.  It’s been proven to save California families and employers billions of dollars in the first year.  It works by taking the money we already spend on health care and then getting rid of the wasteful insurance company bureaucracy that stands between us and our doctor.  

Thank you!

Crossposted at dKos

I’ve been in our nation’s capital this week meeting with Obama Administration officials and Congressional leaders about national health care reform. Everywhere I go, from the White House to the Department of Labor to the U.S. Senate, I get the same question: can San Francisco’s universal health care program, Healthy San Francisco, be scaled?

The answer is yes.  

Truly, one of the strongest aspects of Healthy San Francisco (HSF) is its simplicity. The program allows participants to select their primary care provider from among dozens of local hospitals and clinics, both public and private. Our local system does not require lengthy HMO paperwork and there is no denial of treatment based on pre-existing medical conditions.

A recent study showed that Healthy San Francisco is dramatically less expensive than traditional insurance. And our experience in San Francisco is proving what most American’s already know – it is much less expensive to keep people well than it is to treat their sickness, particularly when so much treatment for uninsured Americans is provided in costly emergency rooms.

There are currently more than 40,000 participants in HSF. We are enrolling approximately 600 new participants every week. We have already enrolled more than half of the previously uninsured San Franciscans and the vast majority will have access to health care by the end of next year.

I believe that administration and congressional leaders understand that we cannot wait for health care reform. Our health care crisis affects every aspect of our society – from making sure every child receives the health care they need to succeed in school, to decreasing the financial burden on business, both large and small, so our economy can get back on track.

I know there is pressure in Washington to wait until the economy improves before we act on health care reform. I faced many of the same pressures when I was working with allies in San Francisco to forge our universal health care delivery system.

But “waiting” in politics usually means never – and we simply cannot afford to wait any longer. The lessons we are learning in San Francisco shows that investing in health and wellness is its own kind of economic stimulus.

The time is now to tackle this problem and I applaud President Obama for promising to sign a national health care reform bill by October. We cannot wait for change – the President needs your help. Sign the petition to support President Obama’s call for health care reform.

One of the key figures leading the charge in Congress is Iowa Senator Tom Harkin. I spoke with Sen. Harkin on my Green 960 radio show this week about the challenges Congress and the administration face and the possibility of using HSF as a model for a national program. You can listen to the show online or via iTunes.

For my part, I was recently made Chair of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Task Force on Health Care Reform. Cities often have the most pressing health care needs and have had to adapt and innovate in lieu of national health care reform. I am looking forward to working with my fellow Mayor’s to hear what they have learned in their cities and share what we’ve learned in my hometown through Healthy San Francisco.

In the end, the task force will identify urban health care priorities and advise the work of Congress and the Administration to help solve this crucial challenge we all share. As always, please feel free to give me your input and feedback in the comments section below.

Listen to Mayor Newsom’s Green 960 radio show online or subscribe to his weekly policy discussions on iTunes.  Join Mayor Newsom on Facebook. You can also follow him on Twitter.

(Xposted from www.mydesert.com, the online edition of Palm Springs’ The Desert Sun)

Well, well, well.  Proud progressive Democrats and their Independent and Republican supporters in Riverside County, and especially in the Coachella Valley, repudiated The Desert Sun endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama in the California primary by giving Sen. Hillary Clinton approximately 67% of the vote.  State-wide, Clinton appears to have won 54% of the vote while Obama has won about 39%.  Shows how relevant The Desert Sun is to the Riverside County Democratic Party, to the California Democratic Party, and to our supporters amongst the Independents and Decline to States now.

The Democrats of Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Desert Hot Springs, Indio, Coachella, La Quinta, and other Desert Cities gathered tonight in a Unity Rally at Dale’s Lost Highway to celebrate our common democratic and Democratic principles.  Fiscal responsibility, universal healthcare, education, withdrawal from the Iraq morass and occupation, economic recovery, human rights, equal rights, and more.

The Democratic Unity Rally was sponsored by Richard Oberhaus, campaign manager of the Greg Pettis for 80th Assembly District, Greg Rodriguez, activist for the Clinton for President campaign, and Rob Simmons, Palm Springs Airport Commission and activist for the Barack Obama for President campaign.  A conservative estimate of the attendance at the soiree would run about 200 given the steady to-and-fro of the enthusiastic crowd.

More below the flip…

The media took special note of the event with coverage by CBS Channel 2, Channel 3, and live coverage of NBC Channel 6 on the 11:00 News.  Of interest, The Desert Sun reporters were apparently absent.  Must have been a paparazzi sighting of Brittany or Brad and Angelina in the Desert that necessitated its attention.

Electeds in attendance included Ginny Foat, City Councilwoman in Palm Springs, Rick Hutcheson, City Councilman in Palm Springs, Greg Pettis, Mayor Pro-Temp of Cathedral City and Candidate for the 80th Assembly District to replace the termed out Bonnie Garcia (R-CA), and Paul Marchand, City Councilman of Cathedral City.  Pettis discussed the progress of his campaign and reveled in the number of community activists in attendance.  Foat discussed her admiration and support for Clinton and her pleasure at the tide of events for Clinton during the evening.  Marchand focused on the excitement in Cathedral City, especially amongst the Latino community, for the Democratic candidates, especially Clinton.  In fact, Rodriguez reported that Latinos appeared to be supporting Clinton over Obama by a 6:1 margin across the country!

In additon to Pettis, other Democratic candidates in attendance included Paul Clay, Candidate for the CA 45th Congressional District, and Dave Hunsicker, Candidate for the 45th Congressional District.  Amalia Deaztlan, manager of the Manuel Perez for the CA 80th Assembly District campaign, also attended.

Local Democratic activists who attended the Democratic Unity Rally included George Zander, Chair of the Desert Stonewall Democratic Club (DSD), Bob Silverman, Treasurer of DSD, James Reynolds, Recording Secretary of DSD, and Donald W. Grimm, Ph.D., Jono Hildner, Bob Mahlowitz, and Bill Post, members of the Steering Committee of DSD.  Silverman discussed his previous support for Rep. Dennis Kucinich for President and his present support for Clinton due to her consistent support of the LGBT community.

Zander discussed his efforts as poll watcher and some of the disarray at the Mizell Senior Center due to the overwhelming number of Democratic and Independent voters who registered their votes at the precinct(s).  Seems that the several counties were ill-prepared for the numbers of voters not only in Santa Clara County but also in Los Angeles and Riverside Counties as well.

Other local party activists attending the Unity Rally included Sandy Eldridge, Co-Chair of the Palm Springs Democratic Club (PSD), Lisa Arbaelaz, co-founder of the PSD, her friend, Armando, Ruth Debra, DSD member, her friends, Tracy Turner, Vets for Peace, Deaztlan, Campaign manager for the Manuel Perez for 80th Assembly District, and many, many more.  Eldridge articulated her excitement about and plans for PSD and the November general election.  Her theme was re the local Democratic clubs working together in order to defeat John McCain, Mike Huckabee, and Mitt Romney and those who support the ongoing, unending trampling of the U.S. Constitution, of the U.S. economy, of the Rights of the middle class and GLBT community, and of International Law.  Kudos to Eldridge and the PSD!

Bloggers in attendance included BluePalmSpringsBoyz, Fofitti, GRodriguez, and SeekTruth from www.mydesert.com, BlueBeaumontBoyz from www.Calitics.com, and others.  Observer discussed the advantages that Clinton has over Obama regarding electability and her consistent support of the Latino and LGBT communities.  SeekTruth and Fofitti discussed their concerns about the protection of our Right to Vote and the potential for voter fraud in the Republican-controlled election machinery in Riverside County. (BluePalmSpringsBoyz, Fofitti, SeekTruth and BlueBeaumontBoyz have endorsed Pettis for the 80th Assembly District.)

Union representatives in attendance included Chuck McDaniel, IBEW Local 440 and co-chair of the Desert Hot Springs Democratic Club, Tony Aidukas, Executive Committee of the SEIU United Healthcare Workers, and Juan Carlos Sanchez, Regional Political Organizer, Political Department of SEIU United Healthcare Workers.  McDaniel and Aidukas discussed the difficulty that they had in deciding for whom to vote following former-Senator John Edwards’ withdrawal from the race for the Democratic nomination.  Aidukas reported that two days following Edwards’ withdrawal, the SEIU UHW Executive Committee endorsed Obama for President.

At least one Republican attended tonight’s Democratic Unity Rally, Roger Williams.  (No, not that Roger Williams.)  Williams, heretofore a Mitt Romney supporter, reported that he recently removed Romney’s bumper sticker from his car and tonight obtained a Clinton bumper sticker as a replacement.

Obama activists attending the Unity Rally included Ed Grubman and his wife, Simmons, Debra, and many more.  Grubman and Simmons discussed Obama’s appeal to African-American and young voters and enjoyed each report of Obama’s successful run in Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, and Utah.

Clinton activists who celebrated her wins in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, and Tennesee, included Grimm, Oberhaus, Rodriguez, Bond Shands, and many, many more.  Rodriguez discussed Clinton’s appeal to women, Latinos, and the LGBT community.  As in previous caucus and primary states, women and Latinos went largely and overwhelmingly, respectively, to Clinton last night.  Rodriguez was particularly gratified by the surprising ease that Clinton had in such states as California, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Tennesee, states that as early as (Tuesday) morning were rated as toss-ups.

The delegate totals now appear to favor Clinton over Obama in both Pledged Delegates from the Democratic primaries and caucuses and the Super Delegates with Clinton now having 825 Delegates (632 Pledged Delegates and 193 Super Delegates) and Obama with 732 Delegates (626 Pledged, 106 Super Delegates).  The Democratic National Convention in Denver, CO will have a total of 4,049 convention delegates, and 2,025 needed for the Democratic nomination.

When the results of the California primary were posted on the big screen, a massive cheer arose from the Clinton camp.  Of note, those from the Obama and Clinton camp intermingled freely and provided support to each other’s members.  Many talked about a possible Clinton-Obama or Obama-Clinton ticket that might be unbeatable in November.  Simmons discussed the possiblity of an Barack Obama-Mark Warner (D-VA), Barack Obama-Tim Kaine (D-VA), Barack Obama-Jim Webb (D-VA), or Barack Obama-Joe Biden (D-DE) ticket.  Rodriquez examined the possibility of a Hillary Clinton-Bill Richardson (D-NM) or Hillary Clinton-Ted Strickland (D-OH) ticket.

In any case, Democrats rallied and celebrated tonight the victories of Clinton and Obama.  Even more, Democrats and their supporters reveled in the thought that the disastrous Bush Administration is drawing to a well-deserved close, especially with Bush’s Dead-on-Arrival 2008 Budget.  How many days can you hold your breath?

What I want to do is explain what Dennis Kucinich is offering our country right now when he talks about “Strength through Peace”; to get a better understanding of what he means by peace and how it will make our country stronger as a whole. We need to understand that creating peace is not simply some idealistic hope for ending wars, but rather a very pragmatic plan that builds relationships based upon fairness and justice and which, predictably, reduces the likelihood of hostilities that lead to crimes, violence and wars. I want people to start seeing peace as a balance, not only in our foreign relationships, but here at home as well; a balance in the economy, a balance in healthcare, in education and government. And I want others to understand peace as paying us a dividend, that peace is a practical investment in our future. But, I want to begin by looking at where we are. Where is America right now?

Well, obviously we’re in Iraq, involved in a hugely unpopular and expensive occupation of that country. We are in Afghansitan and flirting with Iran and in debt to China among others to fund these campaigns.  Economically we’re in trouble with a weakening dollar, importing much more than we export, leading to a massive trade deficit. At home we are in a healthcare crisis, with a crumbling infrastructure, growing poverty rate, a shrinking middle class and some gaping holes in our constitution. The housing bubble is bursting, jobs are declining and outsourced, and inflation is eating away at the whole thing. On top of it all we are growing more and more isolated from our government, as a 70% call for an end to Iraq and overturning both Senate and House majorities isn’t enough to leave. Where’s America? It’s at the bottom of record low approval ratings for our president and our congress.

  Now, to really trace all of the reasons that we got here would take us outside the scope of this presentation. However, I want to focus on a principle that has served as a kind of underlying philosophy for a lot of the decisions that has lead us here: “peace through strength” (the direct opposite of Kucinich’s “strength through peace”). This doctrine of “peace through strength” has been floating through American policy for the last 30 years or so and has been aggressively pursued by our current President. And I think if we examine this for a moment we can gain some insight into our current situation, as well as how an America under Dennis Kucinich would differ.

  The first thing to notice about “peace through strength” is that peace is posited as a goal, or an end in itself, which will be achieved through strength. So the first thing we would want to know is what is strength? Or, how is it exactly, that we will achieve peace? 

  So, when we look at America under George W. Bush, do we see strength or do we see weakness?  I don’t know if there’s really an answer to this question because America is strong in certain areas, but very weak in others. However, if we examine the current policies, a very definite pattern starts to become clear. Power is redistributed to specific areas and further consolidated at the top, greatly strengthening the relative few, while severely weakening the majority of others. This is true both in our foreign policy and our domestic policy.

  If we start with the federal budget, we see this bloated Pentagon budget has come close to $500 Billion, a 62% increase since 2001 and this doesn’t even include the $142 Billion appropriated for Iraq. Consequently we do have a hugely powerful military, but only while we under fund our schools, watch the bridges in our weakening infrastructure collapse and, possibly worst of all, live with the 47 million people who have no health insurance and more people fall into medically related bankruptcy. But, this budget isn’t just by chance. It is directly related to this doctrine of “peace through strength” and is really only one part of the picture.

  Now, if we are pumping outrageous amounts of money into this military, then it shouldn’t come to anyone’s surprise that we are utilizing this powerful military in aggressive wars. Because we have to understand that Iraq was an aggressive war based upon lies. In the beginning it was sold as a “defensive war” because, according to the intelligence, Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and could attack at any time. That was the story at least. But, we later learned that there were, in fact, no weapons at all and that the intelligence had been shaped and carefully selected by this administration. In fact, we have learned that the administration “didn’t accept intelligence to the contrary” and that there existed conflicting intelligence that was omitted from discourse, as Sen. Durbin later told us. The fact that the administration tailored the intelligence to lead us into war and didn’t allow time for the weapons inspectors to do their job shows us another way that power has been redistributed. Unilateral, Pre-emptive war and regime change has been strengthened in policy and multilateral, diplomatic efforts have been weakened. The fact that Mr. Bush only increased his hostile rhetoric towards Iran after the IAEA report indicated significant progress in compliance with inspections, shows how weak diplomatic policies have become, and is an ominous sign of things to come if we don’t challenge this type of thinking.

  Even when war can be avoided however, the solution is one of intimidation, rather than negotiation and the U.S. follows unjust policies, like the privatization of Iraqi oil reserves. In either case, war or intimidation, America’s standing in the world is undermined and hostility becomes great.

  All of this has been justified by the so-called “war on terror”. However, it’s important to keep “peace through strength” in mind, as this has definitely been the philosophy behind this war on terror and, according to the administration, protecting America. “Peace through strength” has been the doctrine for achieving national security and so this same transferal of power has occurred; a transferral of power that has included more and more corporate profits, rights and international leverage, as well as more and more power consolidated in the executive branch through unconstitutional legislation, signing statements and executive orders. Consequently, the weakening has come to the working and middle classes, Congress and Representative Government and individual civil liberites, such as habeas corpus.

  If we look at the economy we will see the same type of thing happening. Trade agreements like NAFTA and the WTO have strengthened large corporations, but weakened workers and the environment throughout the world. These corporations outsource their jobs to countries where they can pay for labor, pennies on the dollar, and avoid the costly environmental restrictions they would have to pay in the U.S., for instance. Further, the agreements have been written in such a way that prevents other costly provisions like worker’s rights. And so what is the effect of these agreements? We have huge profits for these corporations, but only at the cost of miserably exploited labor, who make near slave wages, have to work in unsafe and unsanitary conditions and who are not allowed to form unions or strike to negotiate more fair conditions. Also, we have violence done to the environment, which costs all of us in the long run. It’s important to think about our environment as a sense of wealth. Not only is protecting a clean environment necessary for human, as well as all, life, and therefore truly a form of wealth, but because of that fact, the day of reckoning will come. If clean up and repair is possible it will be much more costly then prevention and it will be the taxpayers who are given the bill. On top of all of this we import massively more than we export, facing a huge trade deficit. Even the workers in the industrialized countries lose too. They lose jobs. It has been estimated that over 3 million manufacturing jobs in the U.S. alone has been lost due to outsourcing through NAFTA.

  At home we see the same power grab for the few at the top and the consequent weakening of the majority that makes up the rest of us. The concentration of wealth at the top of the population has lead to a shrinking middle class and growing poverty rate. The average CEO in the U.S. earns $475 for every dollar the average worker does. And, with a cruel sense of logic, our tax rates then have those who struggle most pay a higher tax rate than the people at the top who can best afford it. Inflation has been steadily eating away at American’s purchasing power and unions have been weakened through acts like Taft-Hartely. It’s become necessary to work more just to live at the same standard as before. Adjusted for inflation, the minimum has dropped by 42% since its peak in 1968. In fact, if the minimum wage had risen at the same rate as CEO compensation, it would be $23/hr.! People are finding it more and more difficult to buy their own homes as property values are through the roof, leading to more debt. We now have 47 million Americans without any health insurance and 50 million who are underinsured. This underinsured group is largely responsible for half of the bankruptcies in the U.S. each year. In a study out of Harvard, a couple years ago, it was found that ¾ of all medically related bankruptcies are experienced by people who have insurance. Think about that. These people had insurance, but after you add the co-pays, deductibles and medication costs to the premiums, people who get seriously ill can’t cope with the payments and have to file for bankruptcy. In fact, the study found medically related bankruptcy to have risen by 2,200% since 1981! And yet, pharmaceutical and insurance companies are experiencing record profits at the same time. Then on top of all of this the most recent report from the U.S. Labor Department found the economy lost over 4,000 jobs.

  So to sum this up then, in “peace through strength” the strength is granted only to industrialized nations, multinational corporations, the Pentagon, the Executive branch, pre-emptive war, unilateral policy, large industries like weapons, securities, oil, pharmaceutical and insurance, and the top income earners in general. And all of this has come by weakening everything else, such as less developed nations, multilateral and diplomatic solutions, the environment, education, small businesses, Representative government, the middle class, the poor, our nation’s health and our national security. These are the relationships created under “peace through strength” and so one then has to ask: Is this what peace is?

  When you look at the consequences of this doctrine of “peace through strength” the nature of “peace” that develops is peculiar. If peace is simply the absence of war, we aren’t doing very well, since we’ve already waged two wars and are laying the ground work for a third against Iran. If peace is understood as a relationship of justice and harmony we fail here as well, since the effects seem to lead to intimidation and domination instead. And we start to see that if we continue on with these ideas we create more hostility, more enemies, more crime, more suffering and more likelihood of violence and war. We start to see that this conception of strength, that causes so much weakness and injustice causes the opposite of peace. So we are forced to conclude that  this whole doctrine of “peace through strength” is impractical and flawed. We find ourselves in need of a new doctrine and way of thinking for the country.

  And this is exactly what Dennis Kucinich is doing. He’s reversing this type of thinking for a new doctrine of “strength through peace”. That is, reversing these detrimental policies in order to create the conditions for peace. Dennis Kucinich is creating policies for relationships of peace, based upon justice and equality, from which we can build from, to strengthen our standing in the world. Peace is not the end, it is the means by which you empower individuals and countries. Peace is not simply the absence of war, but the presence of diplomacy and fair negotiations. Peace is not passive isolationism hoping things will turn out for the best, but actively participating in the world and pursuing relationships. It isn’t an empty ideal to look forward to through endless wars and suffering, but rather a pragmatic tool that is forward looking, creating friends instead of enemies, true universal healthcare, an more equitable economy and a sustainable future. Peace under Dennis Kucinich is balancing the budget and slashing the bloated Pentagon budget for money here at home, ending the war and engaging the world community, creating fair trade based upon human rights, workers rights and environmental principles, universal pre-kindergarten and college, alternative energy techologies, fair tax rates, and newfound constitutional responsibility. It’s creating a safer, more secure and stronger America. Peace under Dennis Kucinich is what’s necessary for this country.

Support Dennis Kucinich!

H.R. 676 is a bill, co-drafted by Dennis Kucinich, which will enact a true universal health care system for the United States. The bill will create a publicly financed, privately delivered healthcare program that provides all U.S. citizens with comprehensive medical coverage, including office visits, hospitalization, emergency care, long term care, prescription drugs, medical equipment, mental health services, drug and alcohol treatment, dental and vision care; with no co-pays, deductibles, or denial of coverage.

Moreover, H.R. 676 provides this comprehensive coverage to all citizens by spending $56 Billion less each year than the current for-profit, private insurance system; the private insurance system that leaves 46 million Americans uninsured and 50+ million underinsured; the same system that wastes 31% of every healthcare dollar (roughly $600 billion/yr) on non-healthcare related spending, such as marketing/advertising, an inefficient administration, rating and underwriting clients, denying coverage, and generating corporate profit; the system structured around profit that has undermined quality, affordable coverage, leaving Americans vulnerable to financial ruin in times of need because of excessive co-pays, deductibles, and medication costs.

As a not-for-profit system, H.R. 676 eliminates the waste by operating with a much more efficient 3% administration cost, utilizing the roughly $600 billion saved each year for actual healthcare and finally guaranteeing the same high quality care for every American. As a not-for-profit system, H.R. 676 creates a healthcare system structured for the purpose of providing the best care to all in the most economically efficient way, rather than maximizing profit. As a not-for-profit system, H.R. 676 finally presents access to healthcare as a basic human right, rather than just another corporate commodity. And, in his support of H.R. 676, Dennis Kucinich is the only candidate considering what will truly strengthen and provide security for all Americans, rather than the healthcare industry. In supporting H.R. 676 Dennis Kucinich is considering:

Crisis: 46 million Americans uninsured and 50+ million underinsured; medically related bankruptcies, up 2,200% since 1981, account for half of all bankruptcies in this country and, yet ¾ of them were insured at the time. H.R. 676 guarantees full coverage for every American.

Quality: Not only does H.R. 676 provide all Americans with unparalleled quality of coverage, including free choice of provider and complete portability, but it finally allows medical decisions to be made only by those that should: medical professionals. H.R. 676 has the support of over 14,000 physicians and nurses associations because it eliminates the business of private insurance and pharmaceutical companies from influencing medical decisions to save money.

Costs: The private system has utterly failed to control costs as premiums have risen three times faster than inflation and pharmaceuticals go through the roof. H.R. 676 will not only spend $56 billion less, but go further in controlling costs by allocating budgets, eliminating profit and finally having the clout to negotiate fair rates with the pharmaceutical companies.

Families: As H.R. 676 is funded through tax dollars, 95% of families will pay less for health care than they do now. Under the current private system, the average family premium is up to $11,000/yr. However, under H.R.676, a family of three making $40,000/yr. will spend roughly 1,900/yr. For comprehensive coverage without any additional costs, such as co-pays,
deductibles or prescription medications.

Businesses: The current private system places a heavy burden on businesses to provide
healthcare for employees, the average employer contributing $2,600 per employee. Under H.R. 676 the average would drop to about $1,600. This financial strain handicaps U.S. businesses competing in the world market.

The for-profit system requires non-healthcare related spending and waste to operate, the whole system designed to create income, not care. In supporting H.R. 676, Dennis Kucinich is the only presidential candidate who offers a solution for high quality, true universal health care in this country: eliminating the for-profit, private insurance system. In supporting H.R. 676 Dennis Kucinich is able to finally guarantee all Americans the security of affordable and fully comprehensive coverage. And through H.R. 676, Dennis Kucinich is reaching out to all Americans, bringing them together, to face the for-profit, private healthcare system and once again reclaim our responsibility as a great nation.

Remember, the Governor said that he had a plan to fix the state’s health care system in October, 2006.  He said he’d tell everyone about it after the election.  ONE YEAR LATER, Schwarzenegger announced at a big press conference yesterday that the bill is almost ready.  It’s not a bill being carried to the Legislature by anyone, at least not yet, although I expect the leadership will bring it along just to have something to negotiate against.  But this is a complete waste of time and energy, to wait 12 months to present something that has no earthly hope of passing.  And paying for it, in part, by privatizing the lottery, which is a long-term money-loser for California.

I mean, this is ridiculous:

Every time he was asked about the numbers, he revealed that this proposal is still a ways from being fully cooked, starting with this response to a question about the financing of the bill–where the money comes from: “This is our proposal. We think that’s the best way to go. But this is not final because it is still being negotiated. A lot of this stuff is still being negotiated.”

Counting on money from the Feds seems tricky to me, given the veto of SCHIP by President Bush. That will leave a gaping hole as far as children’s coverage, and paying for it, are concerned.

When asked about affordability and what Californians at different income levels would have to pay out of pocket, he said: “Well first of all, the numbers that I have given you–this is our proposal. So these are not the final numbers. Because like I said, with the numbers, those things are still being discussed–what the numbers should be.” Maybe we should be happy that the exact shape and form of affordability, a key part of the bill, are not yet written in stone. With an individual mandate, that seems to me to be an area to really scrutinize.

There’s a summary of the plan, which ISN’T THE FINAL PLAN SO DON’T CRITICIZE IT, at the link.  It seems to me that the deal here is to try and avoid all specifics so there can be absolutely no discussion about the biggest domestic issue facing the state and the nation, so Arnold can evade all responsibility for whatever transpires until the moment he signs a bill, at which point it’s entirely because of his leadership.

That’s post-partisan, baby.

(Cross-posted from The Courage Campaign also at MyDD)

Last week, The Courage Campaign hosted a public conference call to discuss the status of the fight for universal healthcare in California. We enlisted Assemblymember Karen Bass (also our majority leader in the Assembly), as well as Sal Roselli, President of SEIU United Healthcare Workers West and MyDD's Chris Bowers to lead a lively 1 hour discussion on the topic.

Go here to listen to it in its entirety.

What was great about the call was the sense of optimism among all of our speakers. Karen Bass opened by remarking on the great opportunity we have, not only with our new majorities in Congress but also with a Republican governor calling for universal coverage as Arnold Schwarzenegger has done rhetorically if not substantively. But as Roselli made a point of saying, this fact alone really is extraordinary, especially considering the governor has called for all children to be covered under his plan, including children of undocumented Californians. Bowers, in his opening remarks, echoed this sense of optimism, saying:

I am hopeful that what we are seeing is a new era where moderate and conservative Republicans break with their own party to support what can be seen as progressive agenda ideas.

This is how Bowers sees Schwarzenegger's call for universal healthcare and I'd agree.

More over the flip…

Having said that, all of the speakers noted some real concerns with the governor's proposal, namely the central premise behind it, the individual mandate, which would require all Californians to get health insurance as we currently are mandated to get car insurance. Luckily, we have other proposals on the table including, by all accounts the gold standard, Sen. Sheila Kuehl's single payer healthcare bill that passed the legislature last year only to be vetoed by the governor. And since in California a bill that calls for raising taxes, as the single payer bill does, requires a 2/3 majority to pass, the best option for successful healthcare reform through the legislative process will require support from Republicans in the legislature as well as the governor. Single payer does not have that…yet.

Which leads us to the ground campaign of coalition building, grassroots organizing and voter education that SEIU plans to launch later this month called "It's Our Healthcare." A year ago, SEIU declared pursuing the passage of universal healthcare to be their number one priority and set out to do the research that would be needed to begin a fight in 2007. What they learned, as SEIU's Jeanine Rodriguez noted:

People are supportive [of single payer healthcare] up until the end when they start getting real fearful about how reform is going to change their own healthcare.

Which is why SEIU's campaign this year will be one largely focused on educating voters. It also plans to work with legislators on alternative bills to see if they can indeed pass something amenable through the legislative process. Roselli said they feel Speaker Fabian Nunez's bill in particular has great potential. But, again, getting the governor AND Republicans on board is a tall order so if nothing passes this year, they will seek to put an intiative on the 2008 ballot and let the people, by then hopefully warmed to the idea of single payer or something close to it, decide. This, as Roselli said on the call, is their single biggest piece of leverage in this fight.

The Courage Campaign looks forward to joining the SEIU's coalition in their fight for real universal healthcare here in California. If you'd like to find out more about the "It's Our Healthcare" program, you can e-mail Jeanine Rodriguez at [email protected]. We'll certainly keep you updated on the blog and for a more comprehensive look at what is planned for 2007 and beyond, I recommend listening to the entire conference call, which you can access HERE.