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The statewide OneCareNow grass roots campaign is devoted to educating Californians and building massive support for Senate Bill 810, titled "The California Universal Healthcare Act", authored by Senator Sheila Kuehl.

Because 6.5 million people in California have no access to quality, affordable healthcare and millions more have inadequate healthcare coverage though skin and bones insurance plans, our private health insurance system is immoral and failing.

We must care for all the children and sick who do not have access to affordable healthcare. We must protect people from greedy insurance companies who make their profits by denying healthcare. Because we care for Californians, we must create a fair, responsible public health insurance system- a "single payer" system- that protects us from the greedy private insurers and keeps our healthcare private.

SB 810 is the landmark legislation that abides by these principles and provides fiscally sound, affordable and comprehensive coverage via universal health insurance for all Californians.

The bill creates one plan and one public trust fund which pays all health care bills and collects all the monies already being spent on health care and insurance plans, which is called a "single payer" system. When enacted, SB 810 replaces all health premiums, taxes, deductibles and co-payments now paid by employers, employees and individuals with one affordable premium paid to the public trust fund to save $8 billion dollars in the first year alone and over $350 billion over a ten year period.

On August 28, 2006 SB 810 passed both houses of the California legislature in a historic vote affirming the right of Californians to quality, affordable health insurance. On September 22, 2006 after taking $4 million from the insurance industry, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed SB 810 on the grounds that "healthcare is not a right." On January 9, 2007 Governor Schwarzenegger unveiled his own healthcare reform proposal to vastly increase insurance coverage by using an individual mandate to force uninsured Californians buy private health insurance yet his proposal fails to establish effective quality or cost controls.

On Feb 27, 2007 Senator Kuehl reintroduced SB 810 to great fanfare in Sacramento. On April 20, 2007 the finance portion of SB 810, SB 1014, was introduced. SB 810 passed the CA Senate on 6/6/07 and is now in the Assembly up for a floor vote. In January 2008 Governor Schwarzenegger cobbled together a bad compromise bill ABX 1-1 with the Assembly which failed in the Senate where the wise Senate Health Committee rejected it 10 to 1.Compare Governor's old plan with SB 810

On September 1st, 2008 SB 810 passed the California Legislature.

Some of SB 810 benefits include:

Security - All California residents are covered for life.

Choice - Everyone has the freedom to choose their doctor or integrated health system such as Kaiser. Delivery of care will continue as now to be private and public.

Comprehensive Benefits - Coverage includes all care prescribed by a patient's health care provider that meets accepted standards of care and practice. Coverage includes hospital, medical, surgical, mental health; dental and vision care; prescription drugs and medical equipments, diagnostic testing, hospice care and more.

High Quality - The bill utilizes proven financial incentives that support the delivery of high quality care, including bonuses for providers working in rural or under-served areas. The plan invests in needed health care infrastructure such as electronic claims and reimbursement systems and statewide medical databases that improve health care quality.

Efficient Administration - Consolidating the hundreds of insurance plans, both private and public, into one comprehensive insurance plan saves the state, patients and providers billions of dollars each year.

Shared Responsibility - Payment of an affordable premium by employers, employees and individuals supports the health care system we all need at some time.

Fair Reimbursement - Providers receive fair and full compensation for all their services.

Cost Controls - Health care costs are controlled by efficient administration, bulk purchase of drugs and durable medical equipment, global health care budgets, coordination of capital expenditures, and linkage to growth of the State Gross Domestic Product.

Coauthors of SB 810 (Kuehl)

Frequently Asked Questions

For ease of use, get our Table of Contents for the bill.

Available for download is a comprehensive Fact Sheet from Senator Kuehl's office. We offer a 10-page Word document about the Features of SB 810.

Also available is a shorter summary, SB 810 Summary.

See also a Fact Sheet in Spanish.

Background History of SB 810