Single-Payer Health Bill Fails to Get California Assembly Vote

(Bloomberg Law) -- A California Assemblymember dropped his effort to create a state-run health-care system for lack of support Monday.

Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D) and Speaker Anthony Rendon (D) acknowledged they didn’t have enough votes from a majority of members to pass the bill (A.B. 1400) despite Democrats holding more than two-thirds of seats in the legislature’s lower chamber. The system, called CalCare, would have made California the single payer for health insurance for state residents and take the place of employer-provided plans.

“Nevertheless, I’m deeply disappointed that the author did not bring this bill up for a vote today,” Rendon said in a statement. “I support single-payer and fully intended to vote yes on this bill.”

The proposal faced stiff opposition from business groups and legislative Republicans, but its failure Monday was because of a lack of support from within the Democratic Party. Opponents objected to the tax increases that would be necessary to fund the system—an estimated $163 billion in new taxes that would require voter approval through a separate measure.

With the single-payer proposal dead, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has said he will continue his incremental approach to expand state Medicaid eligibility to cover more Californians, including undocumented immigrants.

Newsom, who campaigned in 2018 for single-payer health care during his first run for governor, said his approach provides health insurance for nearly all Californians while his administration takes more time to study the feasibility of single-payer.

To contact the reporter on this story: Laura Mahoney in Sacramento, Calif. at lmahoney@bloomberglaw.com

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tina May at tmay@bloomberglaw.com; Meghashyam Mali at mmali@bloombergindustry.com

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