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2006-03-07 Home Front: Politix

California marches backward on health care
Ronald Bailey
A plan to outlaw private health insurance in California has been proposed by state Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D-Los Angeles). Senator Kuehl's bill, SB840, proposes to create the California Health Insurance Agency, a state government run single payer system for financing the health care of all Californians. Her bill, if enacted, would abolish all private health insurance in the Golden State.
So putting thousands of health insurance providers out of business and therefore doing away with their employee's jobs is a good thing?
Her legislation essentially aims to replicate the system of socialized medicine in Canada which, until a recent court ruling in Quebec, made all private health care illegal. Her health care proposal is more authoritarian than the health care systems in the United Kingdom or Germany in which citizens can buy private insurance if they so choose.

Remarkably, Kuehl's proposal to socialize California's health care is being made just at the time when the Canadian system it resembles is falling apart at the seams. For instance, Canada's single payer system is projected to absorb more than half the budgets of most Canadian provinces. In addition, the amount of time a Canadian patient must wait before receiving medical care is notorious. "This is a country in which dogs can get a hip replacement in under a week and in which humans can wait two to three years," said Dr. Brian Day in a recent New York Times article on Canada's health care crisis.

Kuehl flatly denies that her plan is "government-run health care." She prefers to style it as "a publicly administered finance system." Of course, as the old saying goes: "He who pays the piper, calls the tune." In this case, the new California Health Insurance Agency (CHIA) will be paying, and thus every health care provider and patient in the state would have to dance to its tune.
I found this insanity over at Reason. This is one reason why the Democrats are having such a hard time, in my opinion. They are more and more openly Socialist. "Tax the Rich to feed the Poor until there are no Rich no more".

Posted by Deacon Blues 2006-03-07 08:08|| || Front Page|| [11136 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 And this is why the Dems will fail nation wide at the voting booth. Socialism doesn't work. We know that. Most dems know that. They just use it to solidify their power since their people will control it.

Stupid.

Posted by mmurray821 2006-03-07 09:38|| 2006-03-07 09:38|| Front Page Top

#2 Ahhhh... No.

Posted by mojo">mojo 2006-03-07 10:43|| 2006-03-07 10:43|| Front Page Top

#3 It would be interesting to see how many folks in nieghboring states would be willing to get residenecy in California for the duration of their treatment.

If I lived in Nevada or Arizona and had a bad back I'd consider renting a place in California for such a purpose. On the other hand when the health insurance providers leave California you might find the best and brightest in Nevada and Arizona so I guess it depends upon your income level and health needs.

Posted by rjschwarz 2006-03-07 11:03|| 2006-03-07 11:03|| Front Page Top

#4 Even the loony left in L.A. say sheila's a nut. A bay-area wanna be. This will go nowhere fast. Best thing that could've happened to the CA GOP

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2006-03-07 12:41|| 2006-03-07 12:41|| Front Page Top

#5 NV and AZ should go for broke w/HSAs. Let red America innovativeness v. blue europe statism fight it out.

Problem is, we really can't afford CA's economy to totally collapse.

Posted by anonymous2u 2006-03-07 12:46|| 2006-03-07 12:46|| Front Page Top

#6 If (and that is a big if) this passes there will be a voter proposition to negate very soon aferwards.

Posted by Cyber Sarge 2006-03-07 12:51|| 2006-03-07 12:51|| Front Page Top

#7 "Kuehl flatly denies that her plan is "government-run health care." She prefers to style it as "a publicly administered finance system."

And additional costs wont be funded through "increased taxes"...we prefer the term "enhanced revenue sharing".

Posted by DepotGuy 2006-03-07 14:58|| 2006-03-07 14:58|| Front Page Top

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