Daniella Flores | Writer
February 4, 2022
On Monday, California Democrats failed to gather enough support from the California Assembly to create what would have been the nation’s only government-funded universal healthcare system.
In order to become official, the bill had to pass by Monday at midnight. Democrats needed 41 votes for the bill to pass. With Democrats having control of 56 of the 80 seats within the Assembly, they did not see 41 votes as an extremity, notably due to the fact that universal health care has been on the party’s agenda for years.
Despite this, pressure in opposition of the bill from business groups and the insurance industry put many Democratic leaders in a tough place as most of them face the possibility of reelection within the year.
That night, Democrats were missing three of their more liberal members and four of their Assembly lawmakers. “It became clear that we did not have the votes necessary for the passage,” San Jose Assembly member and bill author Ash Kalra said.
The California Nurses Association/National Nurse Organizing Committee, which has been pushing for legislation of this bill for years, condemned the Assembly for not calling the bill up for a vote. The CNA/NNOC was outraged that Kalra gave up on the bill. The association released a statement explaining that nurses were especially perturbed because Karla gave up on the state’s patients. “Nurses never give up on our patients, and we will keep fighting with our allies in the grassroots movement,” the association said.
“I think universal healthcare is a great idea, but I don’t think billionaires like Jeff Bezos should have access to universal healthcare,” junior Ava Miller said. “Universal healthcare should only be offered to the demographic that needs it most.”
While the bill proposed a universal health care system, it did not directly state how much the system would cost and how the government planned to fund it.
In 2017, a universal health care system proposal stalled the State Assembly. A study of the proposal estimated that it would cost $331 billion; when adjusted for inflation, the system would cost around $356 billion today. This year alone California is expected to spend approximately $517 billion on health care, according to an analysis commissioned by Governor Gavin Newsom on universal health care.
For perspective, California will spend around $262 billion on the state’s operating budget which pays for public schools, roads, courts, and other important services.
In order to pay for the system, Democrats proposed a separate bill that would impose an income tax on businesses and individuals.
“The concept of universal health care sounds great,” junior Kate De Vore said. “But I just don’t think that Californians are ever going to want to pay more than they already pay in taxes every year, just for a health care system that might not be as efficient as the one that they are paying for right now.”
Supporters of the system argue that consumers are already paying excessive amounts for their health care and that a single health care system would eliminate deductibles, monthly insurance premiums, and copays.
As of now, both bills seem to be dead for the remainder of 2022.
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