September 15, 2008
Govenor Arnold Schwarzenegger
www.gov.ca.gov

Re: SB840 Single Payer Health Care Plan

Dear Govenor:

Now that SB840 has passed both houses of the legislature for the second time, it is time for you to take a second look at this very fine piece of legislation. We urge you to sign the bill.

Due to the present crisis in California's financing system for health care which leaves millions of residents uninsured or underinsured, employment based coverage is declining due to rising costs of insurance premiums each year. Additionally, many retirees are at risk of having health benefits reduced or eliminated.

SB840, the single payer plan, addresses the problems causing the health care crisis. By eliminating the administrative redundancy of many private insurers and by using the purchasing power of the state, prices for care and pharmaceuticals would be reduced. Increasing primary care wouldl keep people out of emergency rooms and hospitals.

Not only would the state save money (a projected $343 billion in overall health costs over a 10-year period), but health care costs for business would stabilize helping the competitive position of California products in the global markets when their prices no longer reflect the ongoing rise in health care costs.

We know that California has always led the nation as an innovator in solving huge problems, and as California goes, so goes the nation! So we urge you once again to please sign SB840.

Sincerely,
     Janet Brennan, President