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The independent student news site of San Diego Mesa College.

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The Mesa Press

The Mesa Press

Cheers to your health

People all over the Unites States have diagnosed our current health care system with a terminal illness.

“Applying the nursing process to the ailing patient called California,” says Deborah Burger, R.N., President of the California Nurses Association, “We note symptoms of decreasing access, increasing costs and insufficient care, all leading to a diagnosis of health care crisis.”

The source of this spreading illness is found by examining who benefits from people lacking health coverage, and the only answer is the insurance companies.

“Some politicians think this means we should increase the role of the insurance industry to deal with this problem,” Burger continues. “Unfortunately, treating these symptoms with more insurance would be like treating a lung cancer patient with cigarette smoke.”

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California Sen. Sheila Kuehl has been working on a way to detach the malignant parasite feeding off of our healthcare system and its patients.

Sen. Kuehl has re-introduced her bill, SB 840, which had passed through the state senate last year, only to be vetoed upon reaching Gov. Schwarzenegger’s desk.

The Governor did, however, sign a different important piece of health care legislation into law last September, allowing the state to use its purchasing power to negotiate for cheaper prices on prescription drugs, just as insurance companies do now.

SB 840 calls for a major change in the way healthcare is handled here in California.

Instead of the current system, where there are many insurance providers, each with their own paperwork, processes and agendas, there would be what is called a single-payer system. The state would act as the one single health insurance provider for all California residents.

Unlike “Socialized Medicine,” in which the state runs everything, hospitals and healthcare facilities would still be independently operated. Their fees would be paid by the state from one large insurance pool. There would be no co-pay, no expensive monthly premiums and no deductibles.

Every citizen would receive a health insurance card and be eligible for health care at whatever facility they choose.

Is the current health care system really in bad shape?

A January 2004 Institute of Medicine report states that 18,000 people die each year in the U.S. due to lack of health insurance.

Only 46 percent of California full-time workers making $9 to $11 an hour receive employer-based coverage, a June 2005 UC Berkley research study discovered.

In 2005, insurance premiums rose by three times the rate of wages and inflation.

Half of all personal bankruptcies in the U.S. are caused by illness or medical expenses, states a 2005 Health Affairs report. Between 1981 and 2005, the number of medical bankruptcies had increased by 2,200 percent.

Under SB 840, health insurance is provided directly through the patient, so people would have coverage regardless of their current employment status. There will also be no interference from insurance companies, such as denial of coverage due to “pre-existing health conditions.”

It proposes equal coverage for all residents, rich and poor alike, an idea that some people are not too fond of.

Some critics claim that a single-payer system would be unethical. They argue that much of health care relates to lifestyle choices (smoking, diet, exercise, etc), and some people would ultimately pay extra for the poor lifestyle choices made by others.

Others worry that in order to pay for the health coverage for everyone, taxes will have to be raised, placing more of a burden on the economy.

While this is true, it will be offset somewhat by businesses and individuals no longer paying for coverage themselves. The state would also get better rates on coverage since it would be buying in such large quantities.

In a state-run system, transparency and oversight will be dramatically increased. The public would be in charge of setting policies and running the system, instead of insurance corporations who may be more concerned with their own interests than the well being of the people.

Many, if not most, industrialized countries have some form of government provided healthcare.

An example is found in Taiwan. In 1995 they switched from a U.S. model of privatized health care to a single-payer system. Their coverage went from 57 to 97 percent with no significant increase in healthcare spending.

Sen. Kuehl has said that SB 840 should find itself on the governor’s desk again by the end of this year. Only Schwarzenegger can say for sure whether or not it will make it into law, but judging by his actions last time the bill was on his desk, it’s not looking too promising.

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