New Legislation Paves Way For State-Based Single-Payer Health Care Systems

Today, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) introduced the State-Based Universal Health Care Act, which would create a waiver to allow states to develop their own plans to provide access to health care for all their residents. In response, Eagan Kemp, health care policy advocate with Public Citizen, released the following statement.

“We must empower states, including those such as California and New York that are working to create state-based single-payer health care systems, to guarantee that their residents can get the care they need when they need it. By ensuring states have the authority to create more efficient and equitable health care systems, we can help them to lead the way in demonstrating just how much better single-payer health care is than our fragmented for-profit health care system.

“Our failing health care system, where millions are burdened by debt and nearly half of all Americans report struggling to afford the care they need, has increased the demand for state and federal action. This bill would give states the opportunity to break down barriers to care and eliminate the ability of greedy corporations to profit off illness. It couldn’t be coming at a more important time. We thank Rep. Khanna for his leadership on this important issue and urge Congress to pass this into law as quickly as possible.”