Opinion: Single-payer healthcare will take years to get right, but that should not stop California from trying

To the editor: SB 562, the single-payer healthcare bill passed by the California Senate, is all talk right now, but it is a creative process as is a baby in utero: It takes time to gestate before it fulfills the dream of healthcare denied and delayed to most of us. (“California state senators passed a single-payer healthcare bill, but it’s going nowhere fast,” June 5)

If SB 562 is successful and is signed by Gov. Jerry Brown this fall, it will be followed by a second bill next year, the fiscal component, that will clarify the projected cost.

With price controls mandated by single-payer, the real cost of healthcare in California will be affordable and without co-pays, deductibles, narrow physician panels and charges for medication. After paying your monthly premium (tax), you are free from extra charges we are all dunned with now.

Congress passed Medicare for those over 65 in 1965, the same year Canada passed healthcare for everyone. California can be the first state to have Medicare for all and not just for the seniors.

Jerome P. Helman, MD, Venice

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To the editor: Those who tout California’s single-payer bill as “Medicare for all” forget that federal Medicare does not cover everything. It is essential to purchase a supplement to cover what Medicare Part B does not normally cover, which is substantial.

How might that impact the cost calculation of the California plan?

Dave Mulnard, Tustin

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