Half Moon Bay

On Monday evening, February 26th a public meeting on health care reform was held in Half Moon Bay, in the Community Room at Lesley Gardens, 701 Arnold Way.

The meeting featured a presentation and discussion of the California Universal Healthcare Act (CUHA, SB 840) and a showing of the documentary "The Healthcare Solution: California OneCare."

Dennis Paull, President of the Coastside Democratic Club, hosted the meeting. After the documentary was shown, audience members related their own experiences with the health care system as patients, providers and small business persons, and posed many questions about CUHA. Rich Watters, Co-Chair of the Peninsula Chapter of Health Care for All, responded by describing the features of the Act that would address their concerns, and outlined the general features of the measure.

CUHA, designed to provide affordable health insurance coverage with an extensive benefits package, will establish universal health care in California by creating the California Health Insurance System, a single payer for all health care in the state. While controlling health care costs and improving health care outcomes, CUHA will provide health care coverage for all state residents and still save money on overall health care expenditures.

CUHA was introduced as Senate Bill 840 during the last legislative session and passed both houses of the legislature, but was vetoed by the governor. It has been re-introduced this year.

The meeting was sponsored by the Coastside Democrats and Health Care for All-California.