What is SB 840, and Why Do We Need It?

6.5 million Californians, one in five, have no health insurance at all.

Those with insurance are hardly fortunate: half the bankruptcies nationwide are from medical costs, and at least half the medical bankruptcies are from people who were insured but went broke paying huge deductables and co-pays, or were canceled when they got sick or injured. Insurance costs are shooting up, so fewer employers are providing coverage.

Medical costs are the highest in the industrialized world, yet we get comparatively little doctor and hospital care, and our health statistics are among the worst in the industrialized world.

Insurance companies take 25-40% of healthcare dollars for profit and administrative costs. These costs, when added to the additional administrative costs for healthcare providers, causes an estimated 50% loss in healthcare dollars.

Doctors seeking payment must hire an average of two clerical staff each to navigate through the thousands of health plans and repeatedly submit claims to insurance companies that make their billions by denying claims.

We need, deserve, and demand equal, comprehensive, low-cost healthcare for all.

SB 840 would eliminate health insurance companies in California and set up a state-run California Universal Healthcare Agency that would collect federal, state, employer, and tax-payer funds, and pay today's doctors, clinics, and hospitals for the healthcare they provide. The delivery of healthcare is not changed, only the payment mechanism.

Read letters about SB 840

Read letter CARA has written about SB 840 here.

More information about SB 840

See the CARA Legislative Committee tracking report on Calif bills.

Read LegInfo, the official legislative website, on SB 840.

(Leginfo, the Official California Legislative Information website, describes Senate and Assembly bills, with texts, current status, analyses comparing the current situation with changes a bill would make, anticipated fiscal impacts, supporting and opposing arguments and organizations, and other valuable information.)

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