Wednesday, June 7, 2017

California Senate Passes Single-Payer Healthcare Plan (SB 562): News Coverage

June 1, 2017- SB 562, the proposed single-payer health care plan, was passed by the California Senate on Thursday, June 1, 2017 with a 23-14 vote. The legislation, titled the Healthy California Act , was coauthored by Senators Ricardo Lara and Toni Atkins and seeks to create a single-payer healthcare system in California, under which all Californians would receive health coverage regardless of immigration status or ability to pay for the coverage.

Single-payer healthcare plan advances in California Senate-without a way to pay its $400-billion tab
June 4, 2017 – Los Angeles Times
Excerpt: “A proposal to adopt a single-payer healthcare system for California took an initial step forward Thursday when the state Senate approved a bare-bones bill that lacks a method for paying the $400-billion cost of the plan. The proposal was made by legislators led by Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) at the same time President Trump and Republican members of Congress are working to repeal and replace the federal Affordable Care Act.”

California Senate passes single-payer health care proposal, but it’s already facing an uphill battle
June 4, 2017 – Salon
Excerpt: “The California state Senate passed a single-payer health care proposal on Thursday, but the bill has a long road ahead and the state must still determine how to bear the costs, according to the Los Angeles Times. The proposal has been led by Democratic Sen. Ricardo Lara, who believes that health care is a right for all citizens. If the bill comes into is ever made into law, California would become the first state in the U.S. to enact universal health care coverage. “Under a single-payer plan, the government replaces private insurance companies, paying doctors and hospitals for healthcare,” the Times reported.”

California’s single-payer plan costs $400 billion — twice the state’s entire budget
May 22, 2017-Vox
Excerpt: “California is undertaking an ambitious bid to establish a single-payer health care system, and now its plan has a price tag: $400 billion a year. The state legislature has been debating a plan this year to implement a government insurance program to cover all Californians, including those without legal status.”

June 1, 2017 – The Sacramento Bee
Excerpt: “Under the plan, government would negotiate prices with doctors, hospitals and other providers, acting as the “single payer” for everyone’s health care in the place of insurance companies. All Californians would receive coverage regardless of immigration status or ability to pay.”