Think of your family, support AB 1400

I once delivered a baby in a hospital lobby. The parents, struggling university students, had no health insurance. They knew the charge for a hospital day started at 12:01 a.m. The evening they went into labor, they went to the hospital lobby, planning to wait till 12:01 to be admitted. The baby had different plans; he was born at 11:58 p.m. — on a dirty carpet in a public lobby, delivered by a CCU nurse.

Three million Californians have no health care insurance. Why? The average annual health insurance premium is $5,472 for single and $13,824 for family coverage. Fulltime minimum wage workers make $29,120/year; covering a family would consume 48% of gross pay.

60% of workers have employer-provided health insurance, though many are through managed care plans with high deductibles (the amount you pay each year before your insurance even kicks in). In 2020, the average annual deductible was $4,364 for individual coverage and $8,439 for family coverage. As a result, many families delay care until illnesses become severe.

The California Assembly is considering a single-payer healthcare plan — AB 1400; the program will cover every California resident. Funding strategies are yet undetermined, but surely taxes will be levied. Nonetheless, countries with single-payer plans have administrative costs 6%-12% lower than ours. So, taxes will likely be higher, but health care costs will be lower; and individuals will face no deductibles or outof-pocket costs.

Ask yourself where you want your child or grandchild delivered. Then call on your representative to support AB1400.

— Becky Cox-White, Chico