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One of the most important developments in health care for Californians is currently unfolding - and the public, and particularly the media - are unaware, uninformed, and uninvolved!

When State Senator Solis drafted Senate Bill 480, the bill called for universal health insurance for all Californians. The bill was hailed by health advocates who hoped that California, like Hawaii and some New England states, would be in the forefront of states working on plans to ensure that all their residents would have health care coverage, since evidently the federal government was unable, or unwilling, to meet its responsibilities in that regard. In California, the state estimates that there are currently 6.8 million people who have no health insurance.

Subsequently, the bill was watered down and became a "study" bill. State and federal funds were dedicated and various consultants and health care advocates developed models and computer runs for nine separate proposed health care plans for California. According to the California Health and Human Services Agency, these nine options "...include: public program expansions, employer and/or individual tax credits, subsidies and/or mandates, single payer models, or combination approaches." You may review and comment on drafts of these options on the www.healthcareoptions.ca.gov web site.

In our opinion, only three of the nine proposals have the potential for a single-tier, comprehensive health insurance program that would include all Californians, and leave no one out. Others leave out seniors, on the basis that they are already covered by Medicare, even as many suffering older adults are unable to afford necessary medications, and long-term care is beyond the reach of many.

The California Health and Human Services Agency has scheduled what they call "statewide symposia" for "all interested parties" to provide "public input" regarding these nine options. Unfortunately, as we go to press, these "statewide" meetings have been scheduled only in Sacramento, Fresno, Oakland, and on February 8, 2002 in Manhattan Beach.

All of Southern California, where two thirds of the state's population resides, gets just one opportunity for input, and we are informed that the state's consultants plan to reserve facilities at the Manhattan Beach Marriott for only one hundred and fifty participants!

Orange County residents should make their voices heard in Sacramento and in Manhattan Beach. In the state capital, our representatives should be informed that we care about universal health insurance. We want to let the Health and Human Services Agency know, and inform its consultants, the RCE Conference and Training Services and California State University, Sacramento, that two of the State's three most populous counties need to have the opportunity for input, and not just for 150 of us!

It may take a while to decide among these nine proposals, and longer for implementation of one of these plans in this economic climate, but we see this iteration of Senate Bill 480 as progress. This may be the most important development in health care in this decade. Meanwhile, let's gear up to travel up to Manhattan Beach on February 8th and voice our support for the plan of our choice, and let's insist that the folks from Sacramento begin to pay heed to the fact that the majority in this state lives south of the Tehatchapi!

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