Two Democratic Lawmakers Work To Bring Universal Health Care To California
State Sens. Ricardo Lara and Toni Atkins of San Diego want to implement a system that could be replicated across the nation.
Sacramento Bee:
Single-Payer Health Care Up For Debate In California
While Republicans in Washington are seeking to resurrect their plan to dismantle Obamacare and replace it with a market-based approach, a pair of Democratic California lawmakers are plotting to go in the opposite direction. Lara, of Bell Gardens, and Sen. Toni Atkins of San Diego, with backing from National Nurses United and the Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party, are working to create a universal, government-run health care system. (Hart, 4/21)
In other news from Sacramento —
KQED:
Another Year, Another Effort To Expand Disability Benefits For Federal Firefighters
Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) has introduced legislation that would make it easier for tens of thousands of federal firefighters, many of them in California, to get disability benefits. Firefighters for the federal departments of Defense, Interior, and Agriculture have to prove exactly what job-related experience made them sick to get coverage from the federal government. (Goldberg, 4/20)
Sacramento Bee:
CA Mandatory Vaccines Bill SB 277 Author Attends March For Science
rotestors are gearing up for their second major event in a week, following on last weekend’s national Tax March with a March for Science planned for Saturday in cities across the country, including Sacramento. Fresh off the success of his 2015 mandatory vaccine bill – California announced last week that kindergarten vaccination rates have risen to their highest level in more than 15 years – state Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, is traveling to Washington, D.C., with other vaccine advocates to attend the main science march. (Koseff, 4/21)