We have a duty to ensure access to basic and catastrophic health care services to all people – regardless of ability to pay. Rising medical costs are not just a moral issue. These costs damage the competitiveness of California’s businesses and the increase and spread of communicable diseases threatens our very way of life.
My only sister died of cancer when she was only 47 years old. Our family suffered and mourned this terrible loss and has always wondered whether better testing and earlier diagnosis might have saved her. We are such a rich country; we have to do a better job keeping our citizens healthy.
It is long past time that California have a universal, single-payer health insurance system, based on residency – not tied to a job.
The state's fiscal deadlock will continue to drain healthcare financing and programs. In the meantime, the economics of healthcare have changed dramatically, putting our public and nonprofit community hospitals and healthcare systems at risk. We must:
- Ensure that all of our local hospitals are seismically safe and able to function in a major catastrophe
- Assist those most vulnerable who are uninsured – such as seniors on fixed incomes and children – to receive the healthcare they need.
- Make prescription drugs affordable to retirees and seniors
- Keep nurse to patient ratios low
The following article notes that a major factor in Toyota's recent decision to build a large, new auto manufacturing plant in Canada is the fact that Canadian workers are also $4 to $5 cheaper to employ than U.S, workers, thanks to Canada's taxpayer-funded health care system. Click here for details.
