| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 5/18/2005 10:27:32 AM Home School Legal Defense Association California--Legislative Action Alert SB 840: Socialized Medicine |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== HSLDA is passing on this e-mail Alert from Roy Hanson and Jim Davis of Family Protection Ministries (FPM). Although this is not directly a home school issue, it will affect every person and family in California. We think it is important enough for you to consider the recommended action steps contained therein. *********************** Roy Hanson's HELP Tree ALERT May 17, 2005 Private and Home Educators of California *********************** Bill: SB 840 - Socialized Medicine Author: Senator Sheila Kuehl Position: Strongly OPPOSE Status: In California State Senate Summary of Concerns: SB 840 is an aggressive plan to bring socialized medicine into California by replacing private health insurance with a mandatory state-run program for every California resident. SB 840 will: 1) force every California resident above poverty level to pay a state insurance premium (hidden tax); 2) destroy the current system of choices of health care coverage; 3) drive up the cost of health care coverage; 4) reduce the quality of health care available; 5) reduce the availability of health care, forcing some families to go out of state to obtain health care for their family members; 6) create a new huge government bureaucracy that will make life and death medical decisions; and 7) place all final health care decisions in the hands of a single government board and its commissioner. ***** ***** ***** ***** Information Included In This E-mail: A. Action Items B. Background Information C. Reasons to Oppose ***** ***** ***** ***** A. Action Items: 1. Call your State Senator in Sacramento now and ask them to "Please vote No on SB 840." You can find your state legislators, their phone numbers, addresses, and other contact information by entering your 9 digit ZIP code or physical address in HSLDA's Legislative Toolbox at If you are unable to locate your legislator using the HSLDA web site, call your county elections or voter registration or registrar of voters office. Notes: * Call as a concerned parent and citizen. This bill affects all families. * Do not disclose the source of this Alert. All bills are available on the internet. * For these calls, you can use the Reasons to Oppose stated below, but this is not necessary. * Because e-mails are usually ignored, calls are significantly more effective. * KEEP this Alert as a reference for future HELP Tree Alerts. * Reprint or forward this to your friends, church, school, and group. * Pray for a proper outcome. ***** ***** ***** ***** B. Background Information: * SB 840 would create the "California Health Insurance System" to be administered by an autonomous agency, the "California Health Insurance Agency," under the direction of the "Health Insurance Commissioner" who would be elected for terms of eight years. * SB 840 would establish the "California Health Insurance Agency" as the sole primary provider of health insurance coverage for all California residents. * SB 840 would prohibit all current health care service plan contracts or health insurance policies from being sold in California because they would duplicate services provided through the "California Health Insurance Agency." Individual health care service plans or insurance companies would only be able to sell medical or health services in California that the "California Health Insurance Agency" does not provide. ***** ***** ***** ***** C. Reasons to Oppose that your legislators will understand: 1. Health care is primarily the responsibility of families and individuals, not of the government. 2. Health insurance and health care plans have operated as private for-profit or non-profit enterprises in a competitive free market. These should not be controlled or stopped from operating. 3. SB 840 effectively creates a form of taxation in the form of insurance premiums that are to be paid to the state. The state would control how that money is redistributed to pay for medical services for anyone who resides in the state. 4. SB 840 will destroy the current level of choices for health care coverage available to Californians as the "California Health Insurance Agency" dictates what health care the state will provide. 5. SB 840 interferes with the right of individuals to fully manage their own medical decisions. For instance, under SB 840 individuals can only obtain services approved by the state, and only by providers approved by the state. Morally objectionable services, such as abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, or mandatory regular psychiatric exams for everyone could be paid for. In addition, some services, such as those that help the disabled, the aged, or infants with congenital conditions could be rationed or eliminated. 6. SB 840 could result in individuals needing to purchase additional coverage for care beyond what the state's plan would provide. This would require the individual to pay into the state's plan and additionally into a private plan. Most people would not be able to afford to pay for additional plans and would be stuck with only the state's coverage. 7. Under SB 840, premiums for a state plan are very likely to be significantly higher than premiums for existing private plans, which are of a higher quality and offer more choices. Everyone above poverty level will be subsidizing the hundreds of thousands of low- or non-income individuals who will not be paying for their coverage. 8. SB 840 would allow this new state agency to issue regulations concerning your medical care without any public input or independent review by the Office of Administrative Law (OAL). Current law requires the opportunity for public comment and for OAL review of government generated regulations. ***** ***** ***** ***** Roy Hanson's Home Educators Legislative Phone Tree Private & Home Educators of California P.O. Box 730 Lincoln, CA 95648-0730 Fax: (916) 415-9470 HELP Tree Director P.O. Box 100 Somerset, CA 95684-0100 Fax: (530) 622-4717 ***** ***** ***** ***** The purpose of this communication is to present information and express our position on the issue(s) addressed. We encourage you to research this for yourself and come to your own conclusions. Regardless of your position, we strongly urge you to exercise your constitutional right to express your position to your elected representatives. We have included an example of how we have expressed our position. ******************** DISCLAIMER: This is considered a private and confidential message to HELP Tree Members only. We are not responsible for the accuracy of copies printed, forwarded, or sent by any party other than directly from Private & Home Educators of California. ******************** Family Protection Ministries (FPM) is coordinating work at the capitol in Sacramento through meetings with legislators and other parties, and testifying in committee hearings. We ask our members to coordinate all verbal testimony at any hearing through Roy and Jim by calling them at 916-786-3523. This is necessary to ensure that adequate time is available for testimony from key witnesses. FPM will be at any and all hearings on this bill as they routinely testify on any legislation that might be of concern to the private homeschool community. We and FPM jointly continue to monitor this and all other legislation of significance to private homeschoolers in California. ******************** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> How many acorns can a chipmunk hold in its cheeks? We don't know! But we do know that gathering little by little enables ordinary folks to prepare for hard times. That principle is behind HSLDA's payment plan: by paying a month at a time, families can receive an annual HSLDA membership. Meanwhile, they can feel secure as they homeschool and focus on other priorities -their children. Don't go nuts trying to pay for membership all at once. Choose one of our convenient payment plans. 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Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
