Promoting Single Payer health care in California

In California,  single payer health care to cover all Californians is being promoted.   The bill was known as SB 840 (Kuehl). It was passed twice by the legislature and vetoed both times by the Governor with the help of the for-profit health insurance industry.
     Ninety-five percent of California nurses want single payer to pass. As a 50 year member of the CMA and a member of Physicians for a National Health Program, I have promoted “single payer” since it was first discussed, as do most of my colleagues.
     When I was a young physician, most medical insurance was “not-for-profit” and the patient and I were rarely questioned about the necessity or value of my services. Now, I often have my fees reduced or totally denied. Each insurance company has a different set of rules and they keep changing. A single payer will have one set of rules and one payment schedule.
     More than half of my colleagues and I would prefer a single payer system. There will be one set of rules, one insurer to bill and every patient will be covered.
 
Melvin H Kirschner, MPH, MD, Family Practice.
Dr. Kirschner recently published a book entitled “All Medicines Are Poison!” It discusses the sorry state of this Country’s health system and suggests how it could be repaired. Buy it here.