State by State Universal Public Health Insurance
Legislation may enable states to offer universal healthcare
To make universal coverage work at the state level, you'd need to channel federal healthcare funds into the system. A bill being drafted by Rep. Jim McDermott would allow that to happen.
~SNIP~
California came close to building such a system in 2006 and again in 2008 when the Legislature passed bills laying the groundwork for statewide universal coverage. Then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed both bills.
Another attempt at healthcare reform collapsed this year when a bill written by Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) stalled in the state Senate.
The legislation would have created a Medicare-for-all system but was vague on how the projected $250-billion annual cost of the program would be funded. That figure reflects a reallocation of current healthcare spending to include both state and federal dollars.
McDermott's bill would go a long way toward addressing this ambiguity. It would allow federal funds for California's 4.5 million Medicare beneficiaries and 8 million Medi-Cal recipients to be pooled with state tax money for universal coverage.
LINK
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus-20120525,0,2080853.column
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Now watch the phony "states rights" Republicans get in this bill's way.
They make me sick.
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