SacramentoLegislators in California begin on Tuesday to debate whether they will create the first universal health care system in the United States, in a key measure to know if the proposal will gather the necessary support to be approved this year, and if it will be sent to the voters, who will then decide how to finance it.
Progressives in the state have tried for years to create a government-funded universal healthcare system to replace the current one, which relies on private insurance.
In 1994, voters in California overwhelmingly rejected a proposal that would have generated a universal healthcare system. Another attempt was approved in the state senate in 2017, but failed in the lower house, lacking a plan to finance it.
This year, Assembly Democrats have tabled two proposals. One seeks to create the universal health care system and establish its rules, and the other would detail how to pay for coverage, with tax increases on large businesses and some wealthy people.
The first proposal will be analyzed by the Assembly Health committee, led by Democrat Jim Wood, who has already said he will vote in favor. Since the proposal was introduced last year, it must be approved by the State Assembly by the end of January in order to become law this year.
Universal health has been debated for decades in the United States, most recently during the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries, when it was promoted by Senator Bernie Sanders, but it has never come close to being approved by Congress.
Lawmakers in Vermont, Sanders State, have tried unsuccessfully to implement their own universal health care system. The New York state legislature has pondered a similar plan.
Supporters of the system in California are adopting a different strategy this year, one of “divide and rule.” They hope that separating the idea of universal health from the question of how to finance it will make them more likely to pass the proposals and ultimately win voter support.
“We can debate the policy. If someone says, ‘How are we going to pay for it?’ then we will have two different issues now, “said Assemblyman Ash Kalra, a Democrat who is the author of both proposals.
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