Calif. Senate Panel To Review Single-Payer Health Care Bill

On Tuesday, the California Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider a bill (SB 810) by Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) that would create a single-payer health care system. The California Universal Health Care Act would establish a California Healthcare Agency to run the single-payer system, which would pool employer and employee payments, administer finances and negotiate rates with health care providers. The cost of the measure has not yet been determined, but a similar bill that was introduced during the 2009-2010 session was estimated at $200 billion annually.

• "California Lawmakers Take Another Crack at 'Single-Payer' Health Care Bill" (Ortiz, Sacramento Bee, 1/17).