Sen. Leland Yee: Future of Health Care in CA

The single biggest issue that the state Legislature will address in 2007 is California's health care system. The most significant problems with our current health care system are its exorbitant cost and operational inefficiency. These factors work to exclude many average working people from having access to essential care.

Without affordable health care, families are forced to depend on emergency rooms for basic health care and struggle with exorbitant bills, while our entire economy suffers. This has created a growing crisis for patients, health care providers and taxpayers alike.

The Problem and Resources Currently, at least 6.5 million Californians are uninsured, and many more do not have adequate insurance. This means that more than 1 in 5 Californians do not have access to preventative care, medical advice and basic treatments, and do not have a safety net if they become seriously ill or gravely injured.

This is due in large part to the rising cost of health care. Health insurance premiums have risen 87 percent since the year 2000. In the same time period, wages have increased by only 20 percent.

The problems we have with our health care system do not stem from a lack of funding. Californians spend $186 billion a year on health care. This is more than enough to cover every Californian.

The problem is that 30 percent of every health care dollar is spent on administration. There is paperwork for purchasing and maintaining your insurance, paperwork and processing when you arrive at the doctor's office, and more paperwork when your doctor's office files with your insurance company. The only reason the U.S. seems unable to manage universal coverage is because of our excessively inefficient system.

Proposals and Solution
This legislative session, many proposals have been brought forward to address these problems. Insurance market reforms could help to shape the insurance industry and provide better care for a more affordable price.

However, these reforms are a piecemeal process and it is difficult to achieve the desired solutions by applying band-aids one at a time to a system with so many holes.

Single-payer health insurance is the only solution on the table that will address all of the underlying problems with our system. Single-payer healthcare means that one entity - the state of California - would be responsible for providing health care for its citizens. This eliminates the majority of the paperwork and administrative inefficiencies and eliminates the power the drug companies have to charge small medical facilities exorbitant prices for life-saving medicines.

Single-payer health care is financially smart. Instead of using 30 percent of every dollar on administration, the state can require that 95 percent of each dollar be spent on care. Instead of wasting billions on paperwork, universal health care will save Californians $25 billion a year by simplifying the process.

Single-payer health insurance means that the state can leverage economies of scale to provide greater access for all. Costs can be kept low because California will be one large pool of people able to negotiate competitive prices for medical services and life-saving medicine.

I am proud to be a co-author of Senate Bill (SB) 840, which will establish a universal, single-payer health care system. California has always been a leader in ideas and progress. It's time to lead the way once again.

Leland Yee is the assistant president pro tempore at the California Senate.