Other Voices: State Legislature passes universal health care

Yes. We can have quality, affordable health care coverage for all Californians. For life. Senate Bill SB 840 passed a final vote in the California State Senate this weekend and will now head to the governor for his signature.

Sound familiar? On Aug. 28, 2006, SB 840 passed both houses of the California Legislature in a historic vote that affirmed Californians' right to quality, affordable health care. On Sept. 22, 2006, after taking over $4 million in political donations from the insurance industry, Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed Universal Health Care (SB 840) on the grounds that "health care is not a right."

I respectfully disagree. Health care is a right. A human right. Over 18,000 people in the U.S. die every year from a lack of health insurance - that's two people every hour. It is not OK for people to suffer and die of curable illnesses because they don't have health insurance. It is not OK that health care costs are rising at double the rate of inflation and nothing is being done to control it. It is not OK that California citizens are being forced into bankruptcy and/or homelessness because they got sick.

We are the only industrialized nation that does not have universal health care. The U.S. health system spends a higher portion of its gross domestic product than any other country but ranks 37th after Costa Rica in performance.

I know. You've heard it all before. Maybe you'd rather wait for Barack Obama or John McCain to fix it. Someday ... somebody ... will fix it.

I, for one, am no longer willing to wait. Let's face it: The only way we are going to acquire true health care reform is to rise up and demand it. Once again, California is in a position to lead the nation on this desperately needed reform.

Please call Gov. Schwarzenegger today at (916) 445-2841 and tell him to sign SB 840, Sen. Sheila Kuehl's California Universal Health Care Act. Then go to www.onecarenow.org to learn more about this landmark legislation.

I am with Nevada County Health Care for All. We meet every third Thursday at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital, Outpatient Center Room 110 at 6:30 p.m. and welcome new members.

We have two major events coming up in the community and would love to see you at both. Please join us from 8-10 p.m. Monday, Sept. 8, at Nevada City Hall for a town hall meeting and educational forum on the U.S. Health Care crisis and single-payer health care. From noon to 6 p.m. on Sept. 20, come to a benefit art auction at Seaman's Lodge in Pioneer Park with over $10,000 in merchandise, including art, jewelry, health services, and more. Hope to see you there.

Cindy Sherbeck is director of Nevada County Health Care for All.