California Takes Step Toward Single-Payer Health Care With New Law

Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed a bill to come up with a plan for building the system, which is projected to cost $500 billion annually.

Hospital staff members walk down a hallway at the University of California–Irvine Medical Center in Orange, Calif., on Dec. 16, 2020. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Negotiations between the state of California and federal agencies will seek to identify paths toward a universal health care system after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a measure into law on Oct. 8 that establishes a working group to facilitate such discussions and negotiate funding opportunities with the federal government.

Senate Bill 770, authored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), mandates that the California Health and Human Services Agency pursue waivers from the federal government—meaning a request for permission to redirect funds—to allow the state to use federal funding to restructure the state’s health care coverage system.