Kuehl: Single-Payer Health Care the ‘Right Answer’ in California
Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D-Los Angeles) says her bill (SB 840) to create a state-run, single-payer health care system in California will be reintroduced next year, regardless of whether another reform proposal is passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The governor in 2006 vetoed SB 840 after it won support in the Legislature.
The bill would require businesses to contribute about 8% of revenue to a funding pool that provides health care coverage to all residents, while workers would be required to contribute about 4% of their pay to the pool.
Kuehl's legislation this year has 41 co-authors, including Senate President Pro Tempore Don Perata (D-Oakland) and Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez (D-Los Angeles).
Despite its support from lawmakers, Schwarzenegger remains opposed to a state-run health care system.
Kuehl, acknowledging the governor's opposition, says she would rather see the bill vetoed in 2008, "when we've got a national election going on, and it gives me a whole other year to build support for" the measure (Chorneau, San Francisco Chronicle, 5/15).