In First Act as Governor, Gavin Newsom Takes on Cost of Prescription Drugs & Fights for Health Care

[still_one]

for .

"Governor Newsom signs first-in-the-nation executive order to create the largest single purchaser for prescription drugs and allow private employers to join the state in negotiating drug prices
Governor Newsom’s first budget proposes that California move closer to health care for all by becoming the only state in the country to provide coverage to young undocumented adults through Medi-Cal
Under Governor Newsom’s proposal, California would be the first state to expand the Affordable Care Act’s financial assistance to middle-income families, helping them afford health care premiums
In letter to Congress and White House, Governor Newsom calls for federal legislative changes to allow states to innovate within their health care system — including creating paths to single-payer
Governor Newsom also signs an executive order to create a California Surgeon General"

https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/01/07/first-acts-as-governor/

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I am so very proud of Governor Newsom.

He has hit the ground running, as I hoped he would.

These are big problems, and I believe he has the intellect and the team to take them on, and succeed.

It's a great day to live in California!

[still_one]

2. I agree Peggy, though I am under no illusion that Governor Newsom's calls for federal legislative

changes to allow states to innovate within their health care system — including creating paths to single-payer, is going to happen as long is trump is in the WH, and the republicans control the Senate

[roamer65]

3. CA can just do it.

Just ignore what DC says. They have no say on whether or not CA creates a single payor system.

[still_one]

7. Yes, states can do that on their own, but there is a reason Newsom went that route because of the

costs involved. Our California legislature had a Single Payer Bill put on hold because how it would be paid and administered was not set forth in the bill:

https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/06/23/breaking-single-payer-health-care-put-on-hold-in-california-as-leader-calls-legislation-woefully-incomplete/

What Newsom is trying to do is to get some of those costs reimbursed from the feds as was part of the ACA. There is nothing wrong with him doing that, in fact that is what he should do, though I expressed skepticism that the republicans in the Senate will be co-operative.

Newsom is also reinforcing the mandatory requirement that the republicans removed from the ACA because of their fraudulent tax bill, which I suspect a lot of people will be surprised when they find that their so called
reduced taxes, are not as beneficial as they were led to assume. Those who do benefit are the corporations, and 1%, following the same path of Reagan's trickle down economics, which was proven a complete failure.

Newsom is moving in the right direction. How it gets paid for and administered needs to be ironed out.


He doesn't want what happened in Vermont to occur here, where the Vermont legislature passed a single payer bill, only to be vetoed by their governor, because of the costs involved, and their governor of Vermont determined it would hurt the Vermont economy. I am from California not Vermont, so I don't know the details there, but Newsom in my view that wants to get a single payer system that suceeds, and can be used as an example for others

[GReedDiamond]

4. L.A Times article on implementing universal health care in CA, circa 2017...

...here are four paragraphs from the article:

A single-payer healthcare system in California — a galvanizing cause among the state's progressive flank — would cost $400 billion annually, according to a legislative analysis released on Monday.

...

The analysis proposes one scenario in which a new payroll tax on employers — with a rate of 15% of earned income — could supply the new revenue. But the measure itself does not contain a specific tax proposal, and therefore would not, at this point, need a two-thirds vote to approve a new tax.

...

The analysis found that the proposal would require:

A total cost of $400 billion per year to cover all healthcare and administrative costs.
Of that, $200 billion of existing federal, state and local funds could be repurposed to go toward the single-payer system. The additional $200 billion would need to be raised from new taxes.

...

The write-up also notes that a universal healthcare proposal would likely reduce spending by employers and employees statewide, which currently ranges between $100 billion and $150 billion annually. Therefore, the total new spending under the bill would be between $50 billion and $100 billion each year.

...

Full article:

www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-updates-first-fiscal-analysis-of-single-payer-1495475434-htmlstory.html

[still_one]

8. 2017 was when the single payer system introduced in our legislature was put on hold to iron out

those costs and administration so at the same time it would be workable

[littlemissmartypants]

5. This really is great news.

I read about this in a thread elsewhere and forgot to say it there. So, I'm kicking it here. Thanks for the post, still_one.

[Hekate]

6. Fantastic. I wish him (and us) all the best.