1. Florida, Vermont, Hawaii, Maine Make Sweeping Health Care Changes

"Florida Legislators Pass H.M.O. Plan for Medicaid
If signed into law as expected, the bill will make Florida, with one of the largest number of Medicaid patients and a high rate of uninsured, one of the biggest states to jump almost entirely from a traditional Medicaid payment system into managed care. The wholesale shift would begin in July 2012. The bill, a compromise between the House and the Senate versions, would allow the state to decide how much to spend on Medicaid each year, share in the profits of managed-care companies if they exceed 5 percent and penalize networks that reneged on contracts (Alvarez, 5/6)."

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/07/us/07florida.html?_r=1

"As soon as 2017, Vermont could become the first state to provide and pay for insurance for most of its residents under a plan passed by the Legislature Thursday. But it must first clear several significant hurdles, including persuading the federal government to allow the state to assume responsibility for Medicare and Medicaid enrollees and finding a way to pay for the program. The bill outlines a planning process for implementing what is often referred to as a “single-payer’’ system (Conaboy, 5/7)."

Source: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20110505/NEWS03/110505022/Health-care-reform-bill-way-governor

"Hawaii's New Medicaid Plan Is Aimed At Improving Care
State officials unveiled yesterday a new way of providing and coordinating health care for Medicaid patients, particularly the chronically ill, starting in January. Called "medical home model," the program integrates primary health care, behavioral care and social services for Medicaid recipients ... A key component is an electronic health records system to allow easy access to a patient's medical records wherever the patient goes in Hawaii. One in 5 Hawaii residents is a Medicaid recipient, state officials said (Fujimori, 5/7)."

Source: http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/hawaiinews/20110507__States_new_Medicaid_plan_is_aimed_at_improving_care.html

"Maine. A bill that proposes overhauling the state's health insurance regulations moves to the Senate after narrowly passing in the House. The House yesterday voted 76-72 in favor of LD 1333, which would allow out-of-state insurers to sell health care insurance in Maine and allow insurers to vary premium ratings based on factors such as geographic area and age ... Democrats pushed against the bill, arguing it would increase premiums for older residents and those in rural areas, and said the process was rushed, according to the paper (5/6)."

Source: http://www.mainebiz.biz/news47904.html 2. CBO Says GOP Medicare Plan Would Double The Cost Of Health Care For Seniors

By Rick Ungar
"How much of an increase?

Accordingly to the CBO estimates, the program would result in seniors paying twice as much for their care – a sum that would total more than $12,510 a year.

Here’s how the CBO sees it going –

The GOP proposal, which would begin in 2022, involves providing a ‘voucher’ – or as Ryan likes to call it, ‘premium support’ – to seniors to help pay for their health insurance. The average American would receive a check for $8,000, representing roughly what the CBO estimates Medicare would have to fork out for the average beneficiary in 2022. In addition to the government’s costs, the CBO estimates that seniors, in 2022, would lay out about $6,150.00 in out-of-pocket costs in the Medicare system. That totals an average cost of health care for participating seniors, in 2022, to be $14,770.

Under the GOP privatization plan, the cost to purchase the health insurance policy would cost about $20,520 per year – leaving the seniors out of pocket in the amount of $12,510 or more than twice what they would pay in 2022 should the Medicare system we currently have continue."

Source: http://blogs.forbes.com/rickungar/2011/04/07/cbo-says-gop-medicare-plan-would-double-the-cost-of-health-care-for-seniors/ 3. Majority of Massachusetts Voters Prefer Universal Single Payer Care

By Walter Heath
"The following non-binding ballot question was asked of 220,865 Massachusetts voters in the November, 2010 general election: “Should the state representative from this district be instructed to support legislation establishing health care as a human right regardless of age, state of health, or employment status, by creating a single payer health insurance system like Medicare that is comprehensive, cost effective, and publicly provided to all residents of Massachusetts?”
192,230 Massachusetts voters (87%) voted on the question, a fact which speaks volumes about continuing interest in this issue. Sixty-two percent of voters (119,275) instructed their state representative to support a single-payer health insurance system such as Medicare. The voters polled constitute a random cross-section of Massachusetts life: rural, small town, suburban and urban."

Source: http://californiaonecare.org/majority-of-massachusetts-voters-prefer-single-payer/ 4. California Single Payer passes through Senate Health Committee!

May 5th, 2011 by Sylvia Moore
"Facing possible extinction for the first time in four years, the single payer bill SB 810 pulled through, passing the Senate Health Committee on Wednesday on a 5-3 vote, state Sen. Mark Leno’s office reported. Up until a couple of days ago, committee chair Sen. Ed Hernandez had been undecided, putting the bill in jeopardy. But intense pressure from single payer advocates across the state and a massive phone campaign finally secured a “yes” vote from Hernandez. In addition, hundreds of single payer supporters descended upon the Capitol in Sacramento to attend the hearing.

THANKS TO ALL who called Hernandez to change his mind!

SB 810 will now move forward to the Senate Appropriations Committee. It’s imperative that we keep calling and writing our legislators so we can get the bill through the entire Senate a fourth time, then on to the Assembly, and finally to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk. Along with Vermont – which is poised to pass its own single payer bill – we have the chance to show the rest of the country that single payer works, and is the best and most fiscally responsible way to solve our healthcare crisis. Full care for all, for less!"

To find your state Senator, click on this link.
http://senate.ca.gov/
To find your Assemblymember, click this link.
http://www.assembly.ca.gov/defaulttext.asp