IN THIS EPISODE
Tune in for expert analysis of the latest legislative developments on Assembly Bill 1400, the California Guaranteed Health Care Act! Join host Brenda Gazzar and Michael Lighty, president of Healthy California Now, as he describes the complex path to victory for what could be the first state-based single-payer program in the nation. What just happened in the Assembly Health Committee? What comes next? And what other steps is California taking to guarantee healthcare equity to residents? This fight has gone on for decades. At long last, is a win within reach?
SHOW NOTES
WE DISCUSS
What’s the latest on AB 1400, CalCare? And what comes next?
“…the big news is that the [Assembly] Health Committee voted to move the bill forward on an 11-3 vote. That, of course, is a great success and a good sign for the prospects of reform…Presuming it goes through the standard process, it’ll have to be heard and passed through the [Assembly] Appropriations Committee by January 21 and then pass the entire assembly floor by January 31. And that’s really the task before us.” – Michael Lighty
Why did Jim Wood, chair of Assembly Health and long-time opponent of single-payer health care support the bill?
“I think he supported it primarily because it’s time to end the current system’s fragmentation, burdens, unsustainability, and complexity and so he really sees AB 1400 as an example of the kind of straightforward, more comprehensive healthcare system that resolves a lot of that waste and fragmentation…I think there are still, in his perspective, details to be worked out, but it’s a sea change…” – Michael Lighty
The media reaction has been rather negative. Why is that?
“…you can’t separate the huge amount of revenue that media companies make from the healthcare industry…and when it comes to reporters, they report the conventional wisdom or…an opinion columnist who never writes about how… Californians who are really in the middle class spend anywhere from 25-40% of their income on health care. They never write about that. But as soon as someone proposes to publicly finance and guarantee health care for all, ‘Oh my Lord, the sky is falling!’ – Michael Lighty
Helpful Links
Private Health Insurance, A Huge Poll Tax (from The Triumph of Injustice. How the Rich Dodge Taxes and How To Make them Pay) by Emmanuel Saez & Gabriel Zucman
Medicaid Managed Care: Further Reform Needed to Deliver on Promise The American Journal of Managed Care
Taft-Hartley Funds: What is a Multiemployer Benefit Trust Fund?, National IAM Benefit Trust Fund
Office of Health Care Affordability Fact Sheet, California Office of Health Care Access & Information
Governor Newsom Highlights Nation-Leading Plan to Expand Health Care Access for All Californians, Office of Governor Gavin Newsom. Press Release
SB 562, The Healthy California Act, 2017-2018 Session, California Legislature
CalCare, AB 1400, Guaranteed Health Care for All Act, 2021-2022 Session
Asm Jim Wood Will Vote to Move Single Payer Bill Forward, Office of Chair, Assembly Health Committee. Press Release
Healthy California for All Commission
“Harry & Louise” Health Care Advertisements, C-SPAN
Episode Transcript
Read the full episode transcript.
Guest Biography
Michael Lighty, President, Healthy California Now, has organized, advocated and developed policy for single-payer, Medicare for All nationally and in California for over 30 years.
He is a founding Fellow of the Sanders Institute, and most recently, he was the Healthcare Constituency Director for Bernie 2020.
Formerly he was director of public policy for the California Nurses Association/ National Nurses United. He was lead policy analyst, a leader of Campaign for a Healthy California and testified on behalf of the single-payer bill, SB 562.
Get Involved / Take Action
Join Healthy California Now – a coalition working toward a California single-payer system. Individual and organizational membership available
Join the CalCare Campaign (National Nurses United) to join the fight for single payer and AB1400, the Guaranteed Health Care for All Act
Subscribe to HEAL California for health policy news with a California focus
Join Health Care for All California to keep up with local actions to support California single-payer health care.
Join Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) to join the national campaign to improve and expand Medicare to all residents of the U.S.
Find more Code WACK! episodes on ProgressiveVoices.com, on the PV App and on NurseTalk Media. You can also subscribe to Code WACK! wherever you find your podcasts. This podcast is powered by HEAL California, uplifting the voices of those fighting for health care reform around the country. I’m Brenda Gazzar.
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