Committee Wraps Up Single-Payer Hearings With Expert Cautioning Against Moving Too Quickly
On Wednesday, the State Assembly's Select Committee on Health Care Delivery Systems and Universal Coverage heard testimony in favor of single payer from organizations representing health care professionals, small business and labor.
Los Angeles Times:
Chorus Of Healthcare Advocates Praise Single-Payer System, But Differ On How Quickly California Should Pursue It
A months-long series of informational hearings on achieving universal health coverage in California culminated Wednesday with experts voicing widespread praise for creating a single-payer system, but starkly different opinions on the pace of such an overhaul. The Assembly convened hearings in the face of activist outrage with last year’s shelving of SB 562, an ambitious bill that would establish a state-funded healthcare system to cover nearly all of Californians’ medical costs without requiring premiums or co-pays. (Mason, 2/7)
KPCC:
Audio: A Renewed Push For Single Payer At Sacramento Health Care Hearing
Economist Robert Pollin of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, who co-wrote an analysis of SB 562 last year, also addressed the committee. The analysis found that the state would need to raise about $100 billion in additional funds each year to cover the cost of switching to single payer, but that most Californians would end up paying less for health care with the elimination of insurance-related expenses. Some members of the committee expressed concern that the assumptions in Pollin's study might be overly optimistic about how many federal dollars will continue to flow to California, and whether the Trump administration would grant waivers to allow federal money to be used for universal care. (Faust, 2/7)
Capital Public Radio:
Assembly Universal Health Care Hearing Wraps Up With Single-Payer Debate
The Senate bill doesn’t contain funding — potentially a 15 percent payroll tax increase on the high-end — nor does it discuss how the state would receive federal approval to leverage Medicaid and Medicare funds, nor whether it would seek voter approval to circumvent constitutional spending restrictions. Democratic Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon shelved the measure last year as “incomplete,” a position he doubled-down on last month. Instead, he convened this committee to come up with its own proposal for universal coverage, not necessarily single-payer. (Bradford, 2/7)