Majority Party Ignores Popular Sentiment by Passing Socialized Health Plan 

SACRAMENTO: Senator Sam Aanestad (R-Grass Valley) stood firm in opposition against a government run, socialized healthcare plan that passed off the Senate Floor today with a bare minimum of votes. SB 810 will implement a “Single-Payer” or universal healthcare plan on all Californians that will cost taxpayers more than $220 billion in new taxes. Senator Aanestad, a licensed Oral Surgeon who owned and operated his own practice, says the single-payer system has failed in every country in which it has been attempted. 

“You don’t throw out the highest standard of healthcare in the world – which we have in California today – and where people from other countries come to get the treatment they cannot get at home,” said Senator Aanestad. “You don’t throw it all away for this bill – which will fail in its first year and will put you (Majority Party) out of office.” 

The independent, non-partisan, Legislative Analyst (LAO) studied the single-payer proposal -- that has been repeatedly introduced – in 2008. The LAO concluded that even with a record tax hike of over $200 billion on every California employer, retiree and worker, the proposal still fell short $42 BILLION in just its first year of operation. 

Senator Aanestad also questioned why SB 810 provides exemptions for all union workers during today’s debate. He believes that forcing socialized healthcare on all Californians – while exempting a select few – is blatantly unfair. 

“If you’re a union member in California – this bill does not apply to you,” said Senator Aanestad. “You can have a health plan that nobody else can have because you’re a union member.” 

Senator Aanestad says the examples provided by single-payer programs in both Canada and North Korea show any system that mandates a government-run system of healthcare delivery destroys private markets and competition. Healthcare innovation is driven by industry, not bureaucracy. 

“People from Canada come to California for urgent care because wait times are unacceptably long north of the border,” said Senator Aanestad. “Why should California institute a failed healthcare system that Canadians are now trying to privatize?” 

Senator Aanestad believes the complex industry regulations and bureaucracy that will result from a single-payer system will certainly contribute to already existing problems with physician recruitment and retention. 

“I have been a healthcare provider for over 30 years, and continued that practice while serving the people of California in the State Legislature for the past decade,” said Senator Aanestad. “We do not need another government-mandated regulatory scheme that will push more doctors and other providers out of California.”