Tag: SB 562

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi is a leading proponent of only incremental change to our broken healthcare system, and legislators at the state level are following her lead. Sens. Lara and Atkins have stopped advocating for SB 562. Sen. Scott Wiener, Assemblyman David Chiu and Assemblyman Phil Ting all say they support Medicare for All. How long must we wait before these Democratic Party leaders do something to help us achieve better healthcare at a lower cost?

In early June, a universal healthcare bill in the California Legislature  (SB 562), backed by enormous popular support, was heading to its first committee vote. It passed the committee and the full California Senate, but only because it didn’t include any description of funding. By June 30, the bill had been shelved in the Assembly for the year. It will be taken up again early next year. The major concern by both Democrats and Republicans? How will we pay for it?

In other countries, people enjoy better healthcare at lower cost. Everyone has access to healthcare and average life expectancy is greater. In Canada, with their version of Medicare for All, no one goes bankrupt because of healthcare expenses. In the U.S., healthcare bankrupts more than a million every year. In a recent Kaiser poll, 81 percent of Democrats and 58 percent of all voters supported an Improved and Expanded Medicare for All. What is being done to move us in that direction?