News Advisory

THE GREEN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA www.cagreens.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, January 9, 2007

Contact: Susan King, spokesperson, 415.823-5524 funking at mindspring.com


Sara Amir, spokesperson, 310.270-7106 saraamir at earthlink.net


Cres Vellucci, press secretary, 916.996-9170 civillib at cwnet.com


Governor's health plan step in right direction,
but universal coverage doomed because politicos
too ‘in debt' to powerful special interests, say Greens

SACRAMENTO (January 9, 2007) – The governor's just released health plan is
a step in the right direction toward covering all Californians – but any
true universal health care plan is doomed because Democratic and Republican
lawmakers are too in debt to the insurance industry, said a spokesperson
for the Green Party of California Monday.

"The quality of health care should not depend on how wealthy someone is or
is not. The plan announced by the governor has promise because it addresses
– although not adequately – the big profits by insurance companies," said
Larry Cafiero, the Green Party Insurance Commissioner candidate in November.

While the governor said 85 percent of insurance premiums must go to the
patient's care, true universal healthcare could do much, much better.
Canada's successful health care program spends only three cents of a
dollar, or 3 percent, for administrative costs.

"Because of big money politics, we are all hurt. Insurance companies will
call in every favor from everyone they've given campaign money to in the
last election to ensure they get their profit – at the expense of
Californians' health," said Cafiero.

"Forcing everyone to buy medical insurance doesn't address the root
problem: our system of private medical insurance. Americans, including
Californians, pay 50 percent more per capita than any other country in the
world, yet ours is the only industrialized country that doesn't cover all
its citizens," added Dr. Bob Vizzard, a medical doctor and former GPCA
state senate candidate from Auburn.

And, according to Wes Rolley, Environmental Coordinator of the GPCA Green
Issues Working Group: "Maybe more important that trying to find a way to
pay health care costs is looking for a way to eliminate the need for some
health care costs itself. That means addressing problems that arise from
air pollution, childhood obesity and ongoing pollution of our water and
agricultural lands. We need solutions that evolve from understanding how
all parts of the system feed one another: medical, environmental,
educational and economic. We can no longer address any of these in isolation."

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If you're poor, you could (will) be forced into a low-premium-high-deductible plan. Also, the surge in demand will cause the better plans to skyrocket in price, with either higher copays or higher premiums for new members.

There needs to be a measure of regulation to put a cap on the deductible, to, say, $300 or something that's not too high. A poor person living paycheck to paycheck (or in debt) could be wiped out if they're in high-deductible plan.

Schwarzenegger's health care plan was obviously written by
the insurance companies!