Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1515721
school; our bargaining teams spend an extraordinary amount of time and resources negotiating health care that could never be as comprehensive, consistent or cost-effective as single-payer instead of being able to dedicate that time to other education-related issues; and despite the incred- ible work of our bargaining teams, members still deal with denials, deductibles, co-pays, network restrictions, gaps in coverage and surprise bills." Educators for Single-Payer and other advocates use recent research studies and surveys to identify several primary reasons a single-payer health care system benefits public education and workers. Among them: • Student s with consistent health care have better te st score s , attendance , focus , graduation rate s , soc ial- emotional well-being and long-term educational attainment . • Implementing single-payer could save California schools over $5 billion, cutting district health care expenditures by half or more. • The savings from a single-payer policy would allow school districts to invest in class size reduction, better salaries, more staffing, mental health supports, facilities, student resources and more. • Single-payer would take health care off the negotiating table, freeing up our bargaining teams to focus on other important issues in education. • No union-negotiated health benefits will ever be as comprehensive, consistent or cost-effective as single-payer. Coverage for all Universal, guaranteed health care for all aligns with an equitable and socially just society. For Educators for Sin- gle-Payer, it also makes sense. "With a single-payer system, every single person in California would have comprehensive health care, with any provider they choose, from the cradle to the grave — expanded to include dental, vision, long-term care, home care, prescriptions, medical devices and more — all at a fraction of what the state, our districts and individuals spend now," Ehrke says. " That's why Educators for Single-Payer strongly believe health care justice is a public education issue worth fighting for." While CTA supports a single payer system, any position on specific legislation is determined in a democratic process and upon review of the language to ensure alignment with our mission and values, including protection of the Proposi- tion 98 funding guarantee. "More and more educators are supporting and organizing for single-payer health care because we see first-hand how the inequities and skyrocketing costs of our current system are impacting our schools, students and members." —Shelly Ehrke, Educators for Single-Payer CTA State Council Single-Payer Forum, March 2023. Left to right: Shelly Ehrke, Ever Flores, Anthony Arinwine, Radha Bala, Tina Fredericks, Mari Lopez (California Nurses Association), Mark Norberg, Emily Rogers. Erika Feresten, left, and CTA members Shelly Ehrke and Mark Norberg are part of the group Educators for Single-Payer. 45 F E B R U A R Y / M A R C H 2 0 24