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Sherry Swertfager

I’ve worked in the health care industry/health insurance industry for over 30 years. I am obviously old enough to remember when most employers did not provide health insurance. I’ve been a pregnant 16 year old with no insurance - guess what, my husband worked 60 hours a week at our local McDonald’s to pay for our baby, housing, food, etc. We managed without one red cent from the State of California, no food stamps, no Medi-Cal, no Section 8 housing.  Our “Health Care Crisis” began when we started confusing Health Insurance with access to health care. All of a sudden everyone became entitled to insurance that they want someone else to pay for. Keeping yourself and your family healthy is a personal responsibility, just like maintaining your car. Government should be responsible for the welfare of the public - not the person. Immunizations protect the populace and should be made available to anyone who chooses to live here. I don’t know one doctor who would not be willing to give a Saturday twice a year to deliver immunizations.  There will always be a crisis when we attempt to provide well care and sickness/injury care through the same vehicle. Insurance works well for most illness/injury. HMOs work well at providing routine well services, however there is no money left in the system to care for the sick/injured.  If we intend to make all taxpayers responsible to provide anyone and everyone health care then we need to have an organized public health care system with all the waiting lines, different doctor each time you’re seen, and surgeries scheduled at hospital’s convenience - not yours. If we want choice, convenience, state of the art drugs and facilities, take out your checkbook and stay out of mine.

field poll
There is Widespread Support for Reform
81% of voters agree with the statement "it should be public policy that government guarantee that all Californians have access to affordable health care insurance or other health care coverage."
Source: Field Poll, "California Voter Views of the Health Care System (Part 1 of 2)," January 3, 2007.
did you know?
Emergency rooms are by far the most expensive means of routine care. The cost of medical care for treating a patient with strep throat is $91at a doctor's office and $72 at a retail clinic, but $328 in an emergency room, according to a study by Health Partners conducted in 2005.