California's uninsured numbers swell as health care reform vote nears

One in four California residents are currently living without health care insurance, according to a study by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. The research finds that the huge jump in people who are uninsured is mostly due to people who lost their jobs, and with them, employer-provided coverage plans. It's a situation I know too well, since that's where I've found myself since last September. Somehow, being young and healthy doesn't provide much comfort in this situation.

The UCLA study found 8.2 million individuals lacking insurance, compared with 6.4 million in 2007. The number makes California home to the largest population of uninsured citizens in the country - quite the dubious honor. If all that weren't terrible enough, the rolls of the unemployed are only likely to swell more, now that companies like Anthem Blue Cross have decided to hike premiums considerably - a move the company insists is necessary but that the Obama administration has said deserves a better explanation.

The study, of course, comes at a time when Congress is making a last push toward voting on a health care reform package. President Obama announced today that he was postponing a trip to Asia yet again in order to help the bill reach the finish line. In California, some lawmakers have made an attempt to go it alone on health care reform in case Congress can't get it done: State Senate Bill 810, introduced by Sen. Mark Leno, would "make all California residents eligible for specified health care benefits under the California HealthCare System, which would, on a single-payer basis, negotiate for or set fees for health care services provided through the system and pay clients for those services."

It also says: "It is the intent of the Legislature to establish a system of universal health care coverage in this state that provides all residents with comprehensive health care benefits, guarantees a single standard of care for all residents, stabilizes the growth in health care spending, and improves the quality of health care for all residents." Leno represents San Francisco, a city that already has its own universal health care system. Unfortunately, with California politics operating at a virtual standstill almost 100 percent of the time, there's basically no chance that such a measure would ever pass. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has, however, endorsed Obama's health care plan. Back in October 2009, he issued the following statement: "Our principal goals, slowing the growth in costs, enhancing the quality of care delivered, improving the lives of individuals, and helping to ensure a strong economic recovery, are the same goals that the president is trying to achieve. I appreciate his partnership with the states and encourage our colleagues on both sides of the political aisle at the national level to move forward and accomplish these vital goals for the American people."

Photo credit: Flickr user Ambidanze