California liberals seethe after Democratic legislature kills single-payer

[brooklynite]

Politico

SACRAMENTO — The unceremonious collapse of California's single-payer health care legislation — without so much as a vote — has the left desperate for answers.

Instead of serving as a liberal model for national Democrats, Sacramento ended up this week in the same place as Washington: with a single-payer bill that galvanized the party's left flank but gained little traction as moderates balked and powerful opponents closed ranks.

The result has demoralized progressives and demonstrated the boundaries of their influence, even in a state like California, where Democrats control more than two-thirds of the Legislature.

The bill’s failure “illustrates what an uphill battle we have ahead of us,” said David Campos, a California Democratic Party official and single-payer advocate who is running for state Assembly. “I think we need to figure out where we go from here as a progressive movement,” he added.

Didn’t work in Vermont. Didn’t work in Colorado. Wasn’t going to work in California.

[XanaDUer2]

1. We're never going to have Jack shit in this country

Ever

[brooklynite]

3. As with many issues, some people are too impatient to move incrementally.

[Doremus]

9. Ok, incrementally. Tell us about that.

How have we moved toward universal healthcare incrementally or otherwise in the last 150 years?

The ACA? Sure, there was some incrementalism there. Only one problem: the incrementalism went in the wrong direction. ACA started with a semi-robust public option but over the years has been whittled down to near extinction.

Of course it must be my flawed perception. Please enlighten me.

[brooklynite]

11. Yes, we achieved ACA, which expanded health care coverage to millions of more people...

...and 12 years of ACA in existence set a new baseline. Now we can work to add a public option, assuming Democrats can hold the House and expand the Senate. Sorry if your impatience can't wait.

[questionseverything]

15. The aca expanded healthcare insurance by taking public money to subsidize premiums to private

Insurance companies

Many people can’t afford the actual healthcare part

[SalviaBlue]

12. Maybe our grand children's grandchildren will have it.

[questionseverything]

2. States can't print their own money so they can't run deficits

It has to be a national program, like medicare or the va

[PoliticAverse]

4. Why would single payer need to run a deficit? To imply it does implies it isn't sustainable. n/t

[questionseverything]

5. Well since we fund everything with deficit spending

Why would single payer be the exception?

[roody]

6. Not me.

This Californian knows who our legislators serve, and it is not the people.

[brooklynite]

7. That's the Democratic super-majority in the Legislature you're talking about?

[Hoyt]

8. Public Option will get us there faster.

[uponit7771]

18. +1, look at Japan's system there's no reason why that wouldn't work here

[leftstreet]

10. Single payer will probably come from the right

People melt down when I say this, but it seems obvious to me

It'll have private pay supplements just like Medicare, but it won't be means tested like Obamacare. Both parties will be fine with it

[JonAndKatePlusABird]

21. Probably will come with weed legalization too

And we’ll spend/waste our time addressing any and and all bad-faith arguments, because WeEd iZ a GatEWeIGH drUg and RUleZ R rULeS!!!!

[underpants]

13. Kaiser dominates in the west as I understand it.

Thy don’t want it so it’s not going to happen. They might possibly make slightly less money plus it sets a precedent.

[moonscape]

16. Lordie, I get more junk snail mail

from Kaiser here in CA than anyone else. Have never used them but they won’t give up. They are relentless with several promotional mailings/month.

[In It to Win It]

14. I'm an advocate for a single payer system but I think a state level single payer system is the wrong

way to go

[Zeitghost]

17. State systems are not sustainable

without ways to deficit spend or control immigration.

[Hoyt]

19. That deficit spending is where some people balk. It's gotta pay for

itself to get very far any time soon. Might require tax increases, keeping copays to start, etc.

In any event, there are too many skeptics to get single payer without giving them a chance to try it through a Public Option. If it’s as good as we think, people will flock to it in 5-10 years.

[Ron Green]

20. One risk pool is a health care system. Multiple risk pools is an investment scheme.

We have enough investment schemes in this country; we need a health care system.