{"id":21116,"date":"2022-01-16T12:03:10","date_gmt":"2022-01-16T20:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=21116"},"modified":"2022-01-16T12:13:03","modified_gmt":"2022-01-16T20:13:03","slug":"21116","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2022\/01\/16\/21116\/","title":{"rendered":"Single-payer health care advocates rip Gavin Newsom for \u2018flip-flop\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/a>Joe Garofoli<\/a> Jan. 16, 2022 (SFChronicle.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Members
Members of the California Nurses Association and supporters of a single-payer health plan rally in the state Capitol in June 2017.Rich Pedroncelli\/Associated Press 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The California Nurses Association didn\u2019t just endorse Gavin Newsom for governor in 2018; the powerful union drove a giant red bus around the state with Newsom\u2019s face plastered on the side of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written underneath: \u201cNurses Trust Newsom. He shares our values and fights for our patients.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, though, the nurses union is ready to throw Newsom under the bus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Six months before Newsom appears on the primary ballot<\/a> seeking re-election, a top nurses union organizer just called him a flip-flopper. Another top union leader told me that Newsom is \u201cat war\u201d with their top priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why? It\u2019s all about single-payer health care \u2014 the nurses\u2019 foundational issue. A bill creating a single-payer system, AB1400,<\/a> is moving through the Legislature after getting delayed last year, and so far the governor has been uncharacteristically silent about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s a change. Newsom earned the union\u2019s endorsement largely because he openly and loudly \u2014 as only he can \u2014 supported single payer. The nurses were thrilled, as not a lot of governors had made such a pledge, let alone one leading the world\u2019s fifth-largest economy. If California were to adopt single payer, \u201cthe rest of the country will follow,\u201d Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, its leading national advocate, predicted back in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please call on California Speaker @Rendon63rd<\/a> to reverse his decision & let the Assembly VOTE on SB 562 – the single-payer health care bill! pic.twitter.com\/FsGGxZ7Tmp<\/a>\u2014 Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) June 24, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Not only did the nurses\u2019 endorsement bolster Newsom\u2019s credibility among California progressives, but his stance set him apart<\/a> from his top 2018 Democratic rival, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who had accused Newsom of \u201cselling snake oil\u201d for supporting single payer without identifying a funding source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Newsom fired back, to the nurses\u2019 delight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m tired of politicians saying they support single payer but that it\u2019s too soon, too expensive or someone else\u2019s problem,\u201d Newsom tweeted in September 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m tired of politicians saying they support single payer but that it\u2019s too soon, too expensive or someone else\u2019s problem.\u2014 Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 22, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

But last week, union leaders said Newsom did just that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Newsom rolled out his state budget, it included a plan to extend health benefits<\/a> to low-income undocumented residents of all ages \u2014 long a desire of progressives. Newsom touted that California would be \u201cthe first state in the country to achieve universal access to health coverage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Universal access to coverage is great, the nurses agreed, and the proposal is expected to fly through the Democratic supermajority<\/a> in the Legislature. Advocates point out, however, that access<\/em> to health care is not a single-payer health care system that covers every Californian. A single-payer system would include no co-payments, and no health insurance companies. (But yes, higher taxes.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What about single payer?Politics with Joe Garofoli<\/p>\n\n\n\n