Single-Payer Movement Provides Outlet For Stymied Liberals’ Sweeping Health Care Ambitions
Despite being in an era where Republicans want to move health care toward conservative-backed policies, there's a new energy infusing the single-payer movement in the states.
The New York Times:
The Single-Payer Party? Democrats Shift Left On Health Care
For years, Republicans savaged Democrats for supporting the Affordable Care Act, branding the law — with some rhetorical license — as a government takeover of health care. Now, cast out of power in Washington and most state capitals, Democrats and activist leaders seeking political redemption have embraced an unlikely-seeming cause: an actual government takeover of health care. (Burns and Medina, 6/3)
San Francisco Chronicle:
How A Single-Payer Health Plan Would Look In California
Imagine if any California resident could walk into a hospital or clinic — penniless — to see a doctor about whatever health condition was bothering them. That’s the scenario state senators envisioned when they pushed through SB562 this week, a bill that proposes a universal health system in California that would ensure that every resident would have access to health care, regardless of wealth or employment status, age or pre-existing medical condition. (Ho, 6/3)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Universal Health Care For California: A Step Closer To Reality, But Big Hurdles Remain
Should state government become the health insurer for all Californians? With support for that idea growing amid federal efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, the state Senate passed a measure Thursday that would create a new state agency to oversee health care and pay providers directly, eliminating premiums and co-pays for patients. Similar proposals have been made before — even passed the full Legislature, then fell short of gubernatorial approval. Proponents hope this year will be different, given the new momentum for a health care overhaul and the support of powerful unions. But the measure has a long way to go, facing the same challenges that bedeviled earlier efforts: cost, a skeptical governor, deep-pocketed opponents and the need for certain federal approvals. (Aguilera, 6/5)