ranks above the U.S.<\/a>,\u00a0but still poorly due to low access to care and\u00a0health outcomes. Taiwan\u2019s single-payer system covers every resident and is mostly funded with premiums paid by individuals and businesses. Patients still have to pay out-of-pocket expenses, but the island nation spends far less on healthcare than the U.S.<\/p>\nIn California, single-payer is fiercely opposed by health insurers, the California Medical Association, chambers of commerce and a laundry list of industry trade associations. The nurses\u2019 union and some physician groups have supported it.<\/p>\n
Adding to the uphill battle for advocates: To help pay for single-payer healthcare, the federal government would need to allow California to repurpose federal funds for Medi-Cal, the state version of Medicaid, and other health programs. President Donald Trump\u2019s Republican administration would almost certainly refuse to do so.<\/p>\n
This spring, San Jose Assemblymember Ash Kalra\u2019s Guaranteed Health Care for All Act died in the statehouse without a hearing \u2014\u00a0 or even an assignment to a policy committee, the first step in the process from bill to law.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m disappointed. I and the nurses have been working on this for many years,\u201d he told this news organization. \u201cWe\u2019re going to keep pushing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
That bill would have established CalCare, a single source of health insurance covering citizens and residents without legal status, without premiums, deductibles or copays. Kalra\u2019s office said patients could keep their doctors as well.<\/p>\n
Kalra tried to pass similar bills in 2022 and 2024. He wasn\u2019t able to rally enough support from his Democratic colleagues, largely because of the price tag.<\/p>\n
As governor, Newsom moved toward an incremental expansion of existing healthcare tools, rather than the complete overhaul he campaigned on in 2018. He has focused instead on extending private and public health insurance coverage to more residents, in part by expanding Medi-Cal. His administration made progress in slashing the number of people without coverage.<\/p>\n
Even if single-payer healthcare is a long shot, Kousser, the political scientist, said there are still strategic reasons for gubernatorial candidates to make the promise this year. For example, Steyer has scooped up the endorsement of the powerful nurses association, whose leaders vowed Tuesday to campaign hard for the billionaire ex-hedge fund manager.<\/p>\n
But not all Democratic candidates support single-payer, which remains divisive between moderates and members of the party\u2019s progressive wing, who have historically supported the initiative. That dynamic was laid bare in Tuesday\u2019s gubernatorial debate.<\/p>\n
Former U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra, who recently emerged as a frontrunner in the race, said as recently as last month that he supported single-payer healthcare. But KQED reported last week that he distanced himself from the policy when he secured the endorsement of the influential California Medical Association \u2014 a key opponent of single-payer. The association also made a maximum $39,200 donation to Becerra\u2019s campaign this week.<\/p>\n
Becerra called KQED\u2019s report \u201cinaccurate\u201d at a debate hosted Tuesday by CNN and said he has been consistent in his support for Medicare for All, a federal single-payer system, over the last three decades. But when Porter pressed the former secretary on whether he\u2019d specifically support CalCare, Becerra deflected, refusing to give a yes or no answer and reiterating his support for Medicare for All.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Becerra also didn\u2019t answer when a reporter asked for his position on single-payer healthcare.<\/p>\n
\u201cXavier Becerra\u2019s position on this issue has never changed,\u201d spokesperson Jonathan Underland said in an email. \u201cAs Governor, he will continue the work he started through building the Affordable Care Act to ensure every Californian has access to affordable, high-quality health care.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the candidates slam each other over universal health\u00a0coverage, they\u2019re offering few details about how to make single-payer healthcare a reality.<\/p>\n
Porter\u2019s campaign did not respond to a request for comment on how she would pay for CalCare. Her website claims that single payer would \u201csave California billions in healthcare costs every year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steyer also dodged questions about financing the idea at Tuesday\u2019s rally. Elsewhere, he has pledged to close a corporate tax loophole worth about $20 billion annually, nowhere near the projected cost.<\/p>\n
That didn\u2019t seem to matter at the rally on Tuesday, where nurses leapt to their feet to give Steyer a standing ovation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to do all that we can to get Tom elected,\u201d union president Sandy Reding said.<\/p>\n
California\u2019s history of single-payer healthcare legislation<\/p>\n
The campaign pledge for healthcare for all, funded by the state, hasn\u2019t gotten far in Sacramento:<\/p>\n
September 2017:<\/p>\n
Newsom was a big supporter on the campaign trail. He tweeted, \u201cI\u2019m tired of politicians saying they support single payer but that it\u2019s too soon, too expensive or someone else\u2019s problem,\u201d Newsom tweeted.
Single payer passed the state Senate, without a way to pay for it; California\u00a0Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon held the bill back for that reason, drawing the ire of supporters.<\/p>\n
2022:<\/p>\n
Kalra\u2019s AB 1400, which would have created a state-based single-payer system, died without a hearing. Staunchly opposed by the Chamber of Commerce, health insurers, and doctors and hospitals associations. The chamber vows to oppose the idea in the future, too.<\/p>\n
2024:<\/p>\n
A bill creating California single-payer dies in the Appropriations Committee. It pitted two Bay Area lawmakers against each other. Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), chair of the committee. \u201cThere were some tough choices to make,\u201d she told the LA Times.<\/p>\n
2026:<\/p>\n
Kalra\u2019s CalCare bill, AB 1900, fails to move forward again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OAKLAND \u2014 When billionaire philanthropist and Democratic candidate for governor Tom Steyer took the stage at a campaign…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":630162,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[132189,10832,3805,2356,272535,4887,22941,10833,1915,97,252,253,2558,3,10836,111,10838,10839,10840,248945,10843],"class_list":["post-630161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-2026-election","tag-alameda-county","tag-bay-area","tag-california","tag-california-governor-election","tag-california-news","tag-california-politics","tag-contra-costa-county","tag-east-bay","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare","tag-latest-headlines","tag-news","tag-peninsula","tag-politics","tag-san-francisco-county","tag-san-mateo-county","tag-santa-clara-county","tag-social-alert","tag-south-bay"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=630161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/630162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=630161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=630161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=630161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}