California Senator Sheila Kuehl reintroduces single-payer health system legislation

Mar 1 2007

California state Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D) on Tuesday for the third time introduced legislation (SB 840) that would eliminate health insurers and create a state-run, single-payer health insurance system, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The system would be funded by payroll and income taxes.

A 2004 study by the Lewin Group found that a single-payer system in California would expand insurance coverage to 6.5 million uninsured residents and reduce the state's health care spending by about $8 billion.

The bill does not include mandates for the taxes to fund the single-payer system. According to the Lewin report, the system would require $95 billion in tax revenue.

If the tax provisions were included, a two-thirds majority would be required for passage and votes from Republican lawmakers would be needed, which is unlikely this year, according to the Times.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) vetoed the bill in 2006 after it was approved by the state Legislature, saying a single-payer system would be "a serious and expensive mistake" that would not solve "the critical issue of affordability."

The Times reports that Schwarzenegger remains opposed to the legislation (Rau, Los Angeles Times, 2/27).