The California Assembly Appropriations Committee is scheduled to hear Sen. Mark Leno’s single-payer bill, SB 810, this coming Wednesday, Aug. 4. The bill, which would establish a universal, Medicare for All-style health program for California, passed out of the Assembly Health Committee in June and was approved by the State Senate in January.

If passed by the full Assembly, it would be the third time the California legislature officially endorses single-payer. However, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed SB 810 twice, and is expected to veto it a third time. Despite the new healthcare reforms recently passed in Washington, it is imperative that Californians send a message to their state representatives that a single-payer, Medicare for All-type program for California is THE BEST solution to our healthcare crisis.

SB 810 will provide all Californians with comprehensive, high-quality and affordable health care. It will also save Californians money by eliminating the predatory and wasteful health insurance companies that profit from so many of our citizens’ suffering. So please tell your Assemblymember to vote YES on SB 810!

To contact Felipe Fuentes, Assembly Appropriations Chair, call 916-319-2039, or e-mail Assemblymember.Fuentes@assembly.ca.gov. A full list of the Assembly Appropriations members with contact information is available by clicking here. If you need to know who your Assemblymember is, click here. To contact Gov. Schwarzenegger’s office, call 916-445-2841, fax 916-558-3160 or e-mail here.

The hearing will be held at 9AM, Wednesday, Aug. 4, in the State Capitol, 10th and L Streets, Room 4202, Sacramento. You can view the agenda here.

Sylvia@californiaonecare.org