California state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, said Wednesday his new universal health-care bill - the "latest incarnation" in a long struggle - already has 43 co-sponsors in both houses of the Legislature.
He talked up the bill, Senate Bill 810, at a press conference where he was surrounded by a supportive cast of legislators, nurses and doctors. Leno's bill is similar a bill approved by the Legislature in 2008 and vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger because of objections it smacked of socialism.
"Well, socialization is not an ugly word in Washington, D.C. these days," Leno cracked, comparing health insurance to the banking system. The private sector gets all the profits, he said, while the people and government get to shoulder all the risk and coverage for those the industry rejects.
Leno said bill supporters will be working the public to gain more support for a single-payer system, which he said could save billions by cutting out insurance "middlemen" who waste money. The United States, he said, pays much more per capita compared to other industrialized countries and still ranks poorly by comparison for access to care.
Schwarzenegger might veto the bill again, Leno said, but the public mood has shifted and the people want a solution. "It's no news to anybody that we are in the midst of a health care crisis in this country." he said.
Lisa Page, a spokeswoman for the governor, said Schwarzenegger vetoed last year's universal health care bill because the Legislative Analyst's Office estimated it would cost the state $210 billion in its first full year of implementation and cause annual shortfalls of $42 billion. Page said the governor, however, is still committed to "cost effective ways" to solve health insurance problems.
@Nyx.CommentBody@