Democratic Lawmakers Introduce Single-Payer Health Care Bill Inclusive To All Californians

Democratic state lawmakers have introduced a bill to create a single-payer health care system for all Californians, including immigrants living in the state illegally.

Sen. Ricardo Lara of Los Angeles County is one of the bill’s authors.

“We know Californians fully support health care and health for all," Lara says. "We’re in the situation now responding to the looming threat from the federal government to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, and we need to be prepared.”

State health insurers have long opposed such a government-run system, saying it could decrease access to quality care and lead to massive budget deficits.

Lara did not have details on how the system would be funded. He says he will examine the Legislature’s past efforts, which have never become law.

Those proposals called for a tax on employees and employers. A state agency would use that revenue combined with funds for Medicare and Medicaid to pay for the single-payer system.