OAKLAND, Calif., Jan. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The California
Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee today offered
praise to the Senate Health Committee for resisting enormous pressure to
pass a badly flawed healthcare bill and pledged to work with legislators,
community groups, and labor for genuine healthcare reform that avoids the
serious shortcomings of AB1X.
In a statement following the vote, CNA/NNOC Executive Director Rose Ann
DeMoro congratulated the committee "for its thorough, deliberative process
and for taking a principled courageous stand despite the enormous pressure
brought to bear by those who were pushing for hurried passage for a bad
bill."
"AB1X was rejected not because Californians and the legislature like
the status quo or do not yearn for fixing our broken healthcare system. The
bill collapsed because it was fundamentally flawed on its merits on access,
quality, and cost," DeMoro said.
Among CNA/NNOC's key concerns, said DeMoro, were the mandate forcing
individuals to purchase insurance with no controls on costs or a minimum
standard for benefits or quality, the failure to provide meaningful
protection to families facing a huge spike in out-of-pocket costs, and the
danger that the low employer mandate would encourage employers to drop
current coverage.
Additionally, CNA/NNOC noted the serious underfunding of the proposal,
including a tobacco tax and "the absurd premise of basing a health bill on
essentially encouraging individuals to smoke."
DeMoro made note of several of the comments by committee members during
discussion on the bill today, including committee chair Sen. Sheila Kuehl's
comment that not voting for this bill "does not mean we prefer the status
quo, any more than Gov. Schwarzenegger was saying he preferred the status
quo when he vetoed SB 840," a single-payer, Medicare-for-all style bill.
She also praised the comments of Sen. Leland Yee who noted, "the only
way we can get true health care reform is with a single-payer process" that
"is fair and makes sure everyone is covered."
"We look forward to working with Sen. Kuehl, Sen. Yee, and everyone who
is dedicated, along with us, to a genuine, comprehensive reform, such as
Sen. Kuehl's SB 840. In the interim, there is a short term alternative.
Adopt AB1X's fee on hospitals reimbursed through higher Medi-Cal payments
to hospitals proposed in the bill, and use the resulting federal money to
expand coverage for children," DeMoro said.
Following are 10 reasons CNA/NNOC opposed AB1X:
1. Forced individuals to buy insurance policies without knowing the cost
or what coverage they will receive.
2. No meaningful cost controls on rising premiums, co-pays, or
deductibles.
3. Failed to identify minimum coverage, likely to be cheap HMO plans
without dental, vision, mental health, long term care and other
essentials which will cost extra.
4. Gaping holes in supposed affordability protections. No cap on premiums
or out-of-pocket costs for middle-income families. Low-income
employees ineligible for public subsidies if they opt out of employer
coverage offer which could be a gym club membership or health savings
account.
5. Harsh penalties for individuals who fail to buy insurance, including
garnishing wages or mortgage liens, but no penalties for employers who
don't comply.
6. Incentives for employers who now provide benefits to cancel coverage
to pay cheaper fee or shift more costs to workers. Encouraged large
employers like Wal-Mart to dump lowest wage employees into the public
pool.
7. Sunset of hospital fees and tax credits and a two-thirds vote for
increasing employer mandate. No similar protections for individuals
who would bear the burden of future increases in costs.
8. Tied funding to tobacco tax, so anti-smoking programs would
continually undermine the plan's funding base.
9. Jeopardized public safety net hospitals. Gives higher reimbursements
to private hospitals while shifting $1 billion from counties to pay
for the plan.
10. Could bankrupt California. The Legislative Analyst's Office projected
likely shortfall of $3.9 billion. Figure far greater if the costs of
state-subsidized premiums are higher, the number of uninsured matches
federal numbers -- not the proponents' estimates, and if the impending
recession pushes more Californians into the pool.
SOURCE California Nurses Association
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Related links:
http://www.calnurses.org
CONTACT:
Donna Gerber, +1-916-919-1226, or Charles
Idelson, +1-510-273-2246, +1-415-559-8991, both for California
Nurses Association
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