Labor-Community Coalition Demands Action on Health Care

By Paul Burton

A delegation of members from the It’s Our Healthcare Coalition met with State Senator Leland Yee August 17 to urge the Senator to support legislation to solve California’s Healthcare crisis.

Members of the delegation shared their concerns with Senator Yee. David Sharples of ACORN (The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) said that the many of the group’s members in San Mateo County are experiencing financial hardships as a result of the high cost of healthcare. “Some of our members are facing bankruptcy and liens on their homes because they don’t have access to affordable healthcare,” he told Yee.

CWA member David Hurlburtt said his father had been bankrupted by having to pay high medical and health insurance bills and that, “You shouldn’t have to lose your home because of healthcare costs.”

Stan Kiino of the Association of Flight Attendants said that he and many other flight attendants can’t afford to retire. “Health care premiums will eat up one-third of my pension—which has already been cut by United Airlines,” Kiino said.

Haydee Oliveros of Letter Carriers Local 1280 said many of her fellow workers face the same dilemma: “Retired workers need healthcare but mortgages and rents are high and they can’t live on small pensions and afford high insurance costs.”

The issue of containing costs is one of Labor’s principles that the It’s Our Healthcare Coalition wants included in AB 8. Senator Yee disappointed many labor and community allies in July when he failed to vote in the Senate Health Committee on AB 1554, a bill by Sacramento Assemblymember Dave Jones, which would have regulated what insurers can charge. AB 1554 would require that health insurers justify their overhead and profits before getting approval for premium increases.

San Mateo County Central Labor Council Executive Secretary-Treasurer Shelley Kessler said that although Labor was disappointed by Yee’s failure to vote for cost containment through AB 1554, “we still have an opportunity, through AB 8 to get cost containment.

“We know the leadership worked hard to craft legislation to deal with it,” Kessler said. “We ask that you move AB 8 forward now. There are people who have nowhere else to turn to but their legislative leaders.”

Yee gave a brief update on the legislature’s attempt to pass a budget (which was still in limbo as Labor went to press Aug. 20). “We are trying to get two Republican votes but it’s extremely difficult,” Yee said. The budget was held up by a group of conservative republican State Senators. Even though a majority of the Senate voted for the budget, California’s requirement that a budget needs a two-thirds super majority to pass has given a handful of Senator’s disproportionate power to obstruct its passage.

Yee said that the budget stalemate was holding up action on other issues, like passage of health care legislation. As a leader in the Senate, Yee is part of negotiations to amend AB 8, the bill by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. Senator Yee is a supporter and co-author of the single-payer bill by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, SB 840. (See related articles on page 8 and 20.)

“I’m passionate about health care reform and I’m passionate about SB 840,” Yee said. “I’m a co-author and I believe it’s the only answer.” Yee said that even though SB 840 faces a veto from the governor, “It would be better to go with SB 840 and then compromise from there, rather than AB 8.”

He defended his non-vote on the AB 1554. “We’re already piecemealing the issue and we will end up with nothing.” Yee said he felt he needed to take a stand and not compromise further. He said defeat of the Jones bill doesn’t mean that cost containment can’t be addressed. He said that AB 8 will be discussed, with Labor’s principles in the mix. (AB 1554 could be voted on again by the Senate Health Committee before the end of the 2008 session as it was granted reconsideration when it failed to pass the committee.)

The Labor Council’s Shelley Kessler said that “We see day to day the struggles of people; we need something now. We want single payer but we need to get something done now.”

Kessler told Yee that, “Your colleagues need to be reminded that they have health care because taxpayers pay for it.”

Senator Yee said that “We all recognize that the heath care system is broken. The issue is who will pay for it.” AB 8 would be funded by a mix of employer and employee contributions.

When asked what the coalition should do now, Yee answered that, “It’s important to keep the health care issue at the forefront, even while the budget is stalled.”

Other groups represented at the meeting were the Service Employees -United Healthcare Workers West, Communications Workers, AFSCME, Health Access, Planned Parenthood and the California Women’s Agenda.