Landmark legislation that makes California residents eligible for universal health care benefits is currently in the California Assembly.

The California Universal Health Care Act, or Senate Bill 840, was introduced by Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, and passed by the Senate in a 23-15 vote in June.

The bill would establish a California Health Care System with the creation of a new California Healthcare Agency.

“I hope the bill becomes law because it will insure the 6.5 million people in the state who are currently uninsured” said Walter Heath, San Luis Obispo County chairman for Health Care for All. “It will stop the double-digit inflation in combined health-insurance premiums and other healthcare costs we have experienced.”

Healthcare For All is a statewide grass-roots volunteer organization with chapters in several counties across the state.

The organization recently began a campaign of getting signatures from people around the county leaving theaters showing the movie “SiCKO.”

Among the most recent theaters where petitions were gathered are Regal Cinemas in Arroyo Grande and the Palm Theatre in San Luis Obispo.

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“The movie ‘SiCKO' has given our group the opportunity to reach many more people than we would be able to reach at speaking engagements and other events,” Heath explained.

The group has gathered thousands of signatures in support of SB 840 and is distributing more than 300,000 fliers at theaters that show the film.

SB 840 passed both houses of the Legislature in 2006 before being vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger later that year.

Kuehl, chair of the Senate Health Committee, held a briefing with filmmaker Michael Moore and actors of the movie “SiCKO” in early June of this year.

The film, a critical review of the health care system in the United States, has grossed more than $20 million since its national release June 29.

Local support

Local residents with health-care horror tales are in support of the bill they expect will relieve some of the financial stress that comes with treatment.

“In addition to the disease, you get the stress of the news that you can't afford the medicine that can help you,” said Sherri Danoff-Gooding, an Avila Beach resident. “When pain isn't managed, the disease is worse, and mine did go out of control.”

Danoff-Gooding was diagnosed with a rare form of skin cancer eight years ago while going through the stress of a divorce.

She and other supporters of SB 840 organized a forum recently to inform the public about the legislation and was also involved in the leafleting campaign supporting SB 840.

“It passed the state Senate and nobody knew about it,” she added. “This bill will allow patients like me to avoid a lot of the stress we deal with.

“It takes education about a better system being possible, and most people can't imagine what chances are possible unless they see (the movie),” she said.

Danoff-Gooding's cancer has been in remission for the last month, but she has to get periodic check-ups at Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto.

She moved to Avila Beach in 1999 after working as an urban planner for Santa Barbara County and serves as chairwoman of the Avila Valley Advisory Council.

Facing opposition

But others aren't so positive about the legislation.

“I don't think a bill that will expand bureaucracy and government control in our lives is a good thing,” said Patricia Stevens, a Grover Beach resident. “Everyone agrees that we have a broken system, but letting politicians control our lives is not the answer.”

Stevens, who moved to Grover Beach from San Francisco in early 2003, has an annual salary of $90,000.

“There are still programs out there for people who can't afford private insurance,” Stevens added. “I am a compassionate person, but I don't think I should pay for someone else's health care. I think we could do better with something like what they passed in Massachusetts.”

In April 2006, Massachusetts enacted legislation that required its residents to buy health insurance if they don't get it at work.

The law says people earning under three times the federal poverty level of $11,000 - about $29,000 a year for an individual - can buy a state-subsidized health plan, including dental care, with no deductibles.

All but the smallest companies face financial penalties if they don't cover their workers.

“This bill would insure every California resident,” said Kuehl. “It provides enough to fully fund everything you think of as health care. There is nothing like it anywhere in the nation.”

With 33 co-authors, SB 840, would create the California Healthcare Premium Commission to determine the costs and develop a premium structure for the system.

The findings would then be recommended to the governor and Legislature on or before Jan. 1, 2010.

The bill prohibits healthcare service plan contracts or health insurance policies from being issued for services covered by the California Health Care System.

“Health-care spending continues to grow much faster than the economy,” Kuehl added. “Efforts to control health care costs and the growth of health-care spending have been unsuccessful.”

SB 840 was written immediately after passage of the Healthcare for All Californians Act (SB 921) three years ago. SB 921 was also approved by the state Senate but only with “intent” language calling for further consideration.

Hector Trujillo can be reached at 489-4206, Ext. 5008, or htrujillo@santamariatimes.com.

August 2, 2007