Sheila Kuehl's "Medicare for All" Bill Draws Thousands to California State Capitol

Her husband followed, telling the crowd, "Never have I seen a group of more loving, caring protesters." He went on to tell his own story of what it has been like moving through the maze of trying to get his wife's bills paid, and closed by saying, "There is an answer, it's Senate Bill 840."

Lt. Governor John Garamendi has long been an advocate of single-payer health care. He took the stage next and talked about the universal, single payer health care system we already have in the United States.

"It's about time, isn't it. It's about time that we have a universal, single-payer health care system in this state and country. This is not new, it's not new to America. In fact, we actually figured out how to do this forty years ago. Because there is in America today a single-payer, universal health care system, that provides every person in that system to use any provider they want to go to. It operates on three percent administrative cost. The present system here in this state and this nation — thirty percent of every dollar goes to administrative cost.

"So, do we know how to do it? Absolutely we know how to do it. Forty years ago we created that universal, single-payer health care system. It's called Medicare. All you need to do is live long enough to get into it.

"SB 840 is the way to go."

"We love Sheila, we love Sheila, we love Sheila,..." was the call bringing SB 840 author, Senator Sheila Kuehl to the stage. "I like that, loving protesters," she quipped, and went on to tell the crowd they were "we're not just protesters today, we're advocates, we're advocates for the real deal." She gave credit for keeping the health care debate alive to the thousands of advocates who refuse to let the issue die.

Kuehl pointed out major flaws in Governor Schwarzenegger's health care proposal saying:

"Universal health care doesn't mean some, it doesn't mean most, it certainly doesn't mean some of the time, it does not mean you gotta buy it whether you can afford it or not. That is not universal health care."

She called Schwarzenegger's plan "mandatory substandard insurance."

"One size can fit all," she said, "if the size is big enough." The plan that fits all Californians, "very well," is SB 840 says Kuehl.

To those who say single-payer will never happen, Kuehl says, "they're just flat out wrong." It will become a reality because the people have to have it, want it, and they will keep bringing it up until they get what they want and need.

According to Kuehl, health care is hurting the middle class working families the most. The cost of health insurance, says Kuehl, has increased four times as fast as wages over the last six years and is "bankrupting the state, is bankrupting the businesses, and sure as hell is bankrupting us."

Insurance companies cannot be counted on to contain health care spending in a patient centered manner, claimed Kuehl.

"Blue Cross is double cross, Blue Shield is no shield. They have so many gaps in coverage, so many ways in which they're going to deny you insurance, and there's the co-pays, the deductibles, the unaffordable premiums, and as you see, just getting kicked off. Why? Because you used it.

"Only, only, only, only, 840 does it. Only 840 is universal. You know it provides total choice, you know it stabilizes the cost of the system, you know it works as John Garamendi said, 'Medicare for all Californians."

Calling the assembled school employees and nurses the "real advocates" for health care, Kuehl left them with this.

"I don't frankly care if this governor vetoes the bill again. He is irrelevant to universal health care."

Michael Mazzanti, a CSEA board member spoke about the greed of insurance companies. His prepared comments will be posted later.

Lou Paulson of the California Firefighters talked about what firefighters and paramedics see every day. Ambulances being diverted because of insurance concerns and hospital emergency rooms being closed. He implored that we "show the country that California can lead the way in health care."

John Sheard of the California Physicians Alliance was the final speaker. His comments will be in a separate post later.

A bit of street theater closed out the day as a Trojan Horse was wheeled up the walkway and mocked the Governor's health care plan.

This article originally appeared in California Notes: A California issues journal from The Bayne of Blog, by Randy Bayne, and is republished with his permission and blessings. Randy Bayne is the Vice Chair of the Amador County Democratic Party and has been an active Democrat for years.