CA Dems approve 2 NUHW-sponsored resolutions
The California Democratic Party this month approved two NUHW-sponsored resolutions at its annual convention earlier this month. The resolutions call on Gov. Gavin Newsom to initiate talks with the Biden Administration on making California the first state to implement Medicare for All and express support for SB 221, a landmark mental health bill working its way through the state legislature.
The Medicare for All resolution calls on Newsom to seek federal “waivers needed to pursue a single-payer healthcare system.” It adds that the “granting of these waivers will allow California to innovate to help solve some of its most pressing problems such as the current health care emergency.”
Newsom had approached the Trump Administration about securing the waivers to advance Medicare for All, and the resolution urges him to renew those efforts with the Biden Administration.
Party delegates also endorsed State Sen. Scott Wiener’s Timely Access To Care Act. The bill, sponsored by NUHW, would require HMOs and health insurers to provide mental health therapy appointments within 10 business days, unless a therapist deems that a longer period of time between appointments is clinically appropriate. The State Senate Health Committee has already advanced the bill, which is expected to go to a full vote of the Senate later this month before heading to the State Assembly.
“We’re very happy to have the support of California’s Democratic Party for two of our top priorities,” NUHW President Sal Rosselli said. “Democrats across the state are in full agreement that we must achieve full parity for mental health care and that the only way to provide all Californians with quality affordable healthcare, including mental health care, is through Medicare for All.”