California’s single-payer health care system was sidelined late Friday afternoon.
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount), who
, said the proposal was “woefully incomplete.” This dashed hopes for quick passage of the bill, SB 562, which would offer a universal health care plan to the state. Rendon went on to point out that issues of financing, care implementation and cooperation with the Trump Administration were lacking in the legislation. The expense of the $400 billion proposal was one of the main causes of concern for Rendon, who said on Monday the bill was beyond fine-tuning that many measures need to move forward.
Former Assembly Speaker John A. Perez supported Rendon’s decision, saying he had taken the hit of postponing single-payer health care so none of the other members would have to. Perez called Rendon’s action “the job of a leader.” Gov. Jerry Brown had his reservations about the costs of such a revamp of the current system. The California Nurses Assn., which sponsored the bill, criticized the move, accusing Rendon of acting in insurance companies’ interests. And Sens. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) and Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), who authored SB 562, vowed this isn’t the end of the single-payer health care conversation. But how practical is the measure?
Guest host Libby Denkmann speaks to experts on the single-payer health care issue to speculate on the future of SB 562.
Guests:
Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount), California Assembly Speaker representing the 63rd district; it includes Bell, Lakewood, Paramount and a northern portion of Long Beach
Michael Lighty, director of public policy at the California Nurses Association, which sponsored SB 562
Sally C. Pipes, president and CEO of the Pacific Research Institute, a nonprofit think tank focused on free-market solutions to policy problems