San Francisco Gate– State lawmakers studying improvements to California’s health care system on Tuesday rejected on a plan popular with Democratic activists to give everyone in the state government-funded health care, saying a “single-payer” plan would need extensive work to become viable.
The lawmakers instead released a report recommending a variety of ways to lower health care costs and reduce the ranks of the uninsured. It said creating government-run health care would be a long-term endeavor requiring new money and legislative staff and that such a plan would likely require approval from California voters and Congress.
Single-payer health care has become a rallying cry for many on the left, who have advocated for lawmakers to quickly boot health insurance companies from California. Democratic Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon angered backers of such a plan last year when he shelved a single-payer bill, SB562, which he called woefully incomplete. It’s poised to be a flashpoint in the race for governor among the Democratic candidates.
The California Right 