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Updated March 4, 2010
Advocacy-Public Policy Update Western Region By Rachel LaForest, National Public Policy Director
Eastern Region Update
Obama Urges Final Vote on Healthcare Reform On March 3, President Obama asked both Houses of Congress to finish their work and schedule a vote in the next few weeks. Essentially what he has said is the reconciliation process will be used to finalize a health care bill. In order to proceed, the House would have to first pass the Senate-passed health bill. Then both chambers would use reconciliation to pass a package of changes that would bridge gaps between the initial House and Senate versions. The final bill language would then be sent to the Congressional Budget Office for evaluation and scoring. Put Labor onto the National Labor Relations Board Actors' Equity is urging its members to call the White House to urge President Obama to use his executive power to appoint Craig Becker and Mark Pearce to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) during the Presidents Day recess. SB 810- The California Universal Healthcare Act, passes in the California Senate! Thank you to all Equity members who took action! Stay tuned for California Assembly and Gubernatorial actions in the near future. Major Advance for California Healthcare Reform as Senate Passes Medicare for All Legislation New Energy for Healthcare Reform After National Bills Stall SACRAMENTO, Calif. - January 28 - To ecstatic applause from healthcare advocates, the California Senate today breathed new life into national prospects for fundamental health reform by passing - in a 22 to 14 vote - a major bill to guarantee healthcare in the state through creating a Medicare for all system that would cover every Californian. SB 810, The California Universal Healthcare Act, authored by Sen. Mark Leno, with broad support among many healthcare, community, and labor groups, will now proceed to a vote by the Assembly, which has passed similar legislation in the past. The bill would establish a single-payer system in California, modeled on the healthcare systems flourishing in virtually all other industrialized nations, where better patient outcomes are achieved at a fraction of the cost of the U.S. system. “It is unclear what the prospects are for health reform at the national level,” said California Nurses Association co-president Geri Jenkins, RN, “but this vote offers California the chance to chart a new course for the nation. SB 810 will guarantee healthcare for every family through a humane system that controls costs and allows patients and their doctors--not insurance agents--to make decisions about healthcare,” said Jenkins. “People will pay less, and no longer be denied care based on their income, age, location, or pre-existing health conditions.” Noting during the floor debate that, “consistently 59% of California voters say yes” they want a Medicare for all system in the state, Senator Leno added that single-payer is not just a bill for a humane health system, but also a jobs program for a state that desperately needs one: “We can’t compete in a global marketplace where all our competitors have had the government take the burden of healthcare off the shoulders of their employers….as we move towards single-payer in this state, and have better universal coverage, this will attract employers to California. We are already underwater in our healthcare system. We can’t keep up.” Referring to opposition arguments about supposed ballooning costs under the bill, Senator Leno pointed out that a single payer system would simply redirect current spending on healthcare, away from insurance overhead and towards a more direct and efficient way of providing care. Additionally the bill would not go into effect immediately; the current SB 810 creates a system to propose revenue streams that would then go back to the legislature for final review. Medicare for all or “single-payer” healthcare reforms, such as SB 810, would help create the kind of quality jobs so urgently needed today, and do so while providing a huge economic stimulus. A California Nurses Association/National Nurses United study last year documented that national single-payer reform would generate 2.6 million jobs and $317 billion in additional business and public revenues. Further, CNA/NNU research last year found that six of California’s largest insurance companies reject more than one-fifth of all claims, an experience many California patients know all too well. California is one of more than half a dozen states with similar state legislation this year, indicative of the desire for healthcare solutions by states no matter what happens at the federal level.
California Marriage Equality (Proposition 8) Prop 8 Ballot Initiatives Entering Final Stretch By April 12, 2010, volunteers and organizers must submit 1 Million signatures to put equality back on the ballot in California. These last days are absolutely critical. There is literally no time to waste, no effort to be spared, on April 13 it will be too late. The Restore Equality 2010 Campaign is calling on all those who have some time and the will to do what must be done, to stand up and be counted. They need leadership teams throughout the state to be formed straight away so that all efforts can be maximized. Specifically, they need people who can help recruit volunteers, gather signatures, conduct and facilitate events, phone bank, fundraise and blog. The campaign’s manager, Eugene Hedlund is asking that anyone who is interested and has time to volunteer contact him directly via email. If you are passionate about this issue and would like to lend a hand you can email Mr. Hedlund at eugene@restoreequality2010.com. Together we can make the impossible, possible!
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