POLICY: As Goes California, So Should Go the Nation, by Mary Kay Henry

Now I can’t claim to be an optimist about the future of California's health reform bill. But at least someone is.  And that someone is SEIU Executive Vice President Mary Kay Henry. Here’s her take on the latest California news and why the SEIU is at least one union buying in.

ABx1 1: no, it’s not the holiday season’s hot new video game. It’s the bill name for historic legislation approved yesterday by the California State Assembly to make healthcare more secure and affordable for those who have insurance, and provide coverage to millions who don’t.

Months of intense negotiations drew on the collective creativity and wisdom of elected officials, consumer groups, healthcare professionals, and labor and business community leaders to generate the comprehensive plan. The measure has the potential to transform the healthcare reality for millions of Californians, and it will fundamentally change the healthcare debate nationally.

As the nation’s fastest growing and largest healthcare union, SEIU has endorsed ABx1 1. Our 600,000 members in California have first-hand experience of being stymied by the present dysfunctional system both as workers and as consumers. We have decided to support this plan because it holds the promise of enhanced quality, increased efficiency and improved access to healthcare in California.

The bill improves quality of care patients will receive by offering new initiatives focused on prevention and wellness. It increases the rates paid to hospitals and doctors caring for patients of Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, thus discouraging discrimination in care based on income level. Crucially, the bill also forbids insurance companies from denying coverage to patients based on “pre-existing conditions” like cancer or diabetes.   

The bill contains costs and improves efficiency of care by requiring insurers, care providers and institutions to publicly disclose information on costs and quality. It limits the amount of money that can go toward insurance company overhead and profits. And it increases patients’ clout by establishing a new statewide purchasing pool to negotiate rates and benefits with insurers.

Finally, the bill contains affordability measures to ensure that working families are not left out in the cold with a purchase mandate they can’t afford. Subsidies, tax credits, and hardship exemptions are written into the legislation to support Californians making below 400% of the federal poverty level and early retirees. Those making under 250% of the poverty level will be exempt from an individual mandate but will still receive the quality care they need. 

We see this legislation as a work in progress—a crucial step toward the goal of quality, affordable health coverage for every woman, man, and child in America. The plan is not perfect, but waiting around for the perfect plan is a luxury too many Californians and Americans do not have. 

Nay-sayers beware: if meaningful healthcare reform can happen in California, America’s largest and most ethnically, economically, and politically diverse state, it can—and must—happen nationwide.