Health Care - a Right, Not a Privilege

By Kevin Biggers

Our health care system has left many in the 25th district without adequate health care facilities. The time is NOW to find a solution.

As with education, in the wealthier areas of our community this problem is less acute as more residents can afford health insurance and have access to high quality health care facilities. In the lower income areas of our community, many residents cannot afford health insurance and do not have access to quality health care facilities. This "tale of two cities" approach to health care results in the financial burden of the uninsured being shared by those who can afford insurance. As with any insurance, the insurance providers spread the risk. In the end, we are ALL paying for the inadequate and inequitable health care structure we have now. What can we do about it? We can take action. I support a two-pronged approach to begin to tackle our health care problems.

First, I support Senator Sheila Keuhl's bill, SB 840, which provides a single-payer type of program for health care. Under SB 840, universal coverage is achieved. It greatly reduces ongoing administrative burdens and costs of county, state and federally administered health care programs, consolidating those expenses into one program, thereby eliminating waste and duplication. It is also a highly equitable system and will virtually eliminate the two health care systems I mentioned previously, one for the members of our community who can afford health insurance and another for those members of our community who cannot afford health insurance. This type of system also produces the broadest possible risk sharing. It is not without cost, however, and I recognize that. SB 840 will result in a higher budgetary expense at the state level. To deal with this issue, the bill establishes a commission to develop a funding plan to be approved by the state legislature and governor. From the viewpoint of the hospitals, the bill does eliminate problems associated with uncompensated care and the complexity (bureaucracy) of dealing with many forms of payment and payers.

Second, while the health care system transitions to a single-payer program, I support increased funding for our state and county hospitals, including Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital (King-Harbor). In addition, we need to make a commitment to fund trauma centers and emergency rooms in the inner city. Currently, in the 25th district, if a person is in need of emergency services in the Compton area, he or she will be transported to downtown Los Angeles to California Hospital for care, a trip of nearly 15 miles that could take up to 20 minutes. If that same patient could go to King-Harbor for emergency care, the trip would be less than 5 minutes. This is unacceptable and cannot be allowed to continue.

As your next State Senator, I will fight to re-open and fully fund King-Harbor.