Kudos to California Dems, esp Sen. Leno: Universal Health Care Proposal:

[amborin]

SAN FRANCISCO — Democrats in California revived a bill on Thursday that would create a single-payer, universal health care system in the state.

the move came as questions arose over the prospects of Congress adopting national health care legislation, the author of the California bill, State Senator Mark Leno, said that the timing was coincidental. Mr. Leno said it was basically a long-planned reintroduction of a 2009 proposal that was effectively tabled because of its potential cost. But he did concede that Tuesday’s special Senate election in Massachusetts, in which Democrats lost their filibuster-proof 60-vote majority, was not completely lost on him.

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Christine Kehoe, a San Diego Democrat and the chairwoman of the State Senate appropriations committee, which revived Mr. Leno’s bill, said the costs to the state would be $1 million in the next fiscal year because the bill would only initially create a commission to find ways to pay for expanded health care.

And while Ms. Kehoe said a single-payer system could cost “tens of billions a year,” she added that the state was already paying significant amounts for other publicly financed health care programs. She said Mr. Leno’s bill — which would also expand eligibility for Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program — would eventually result in the state saving money.

“The cost of health care insurance in California is a major hindrance to our economy,” said Ms. Kehoe, citing large numbers of uninsured and people paying high rates. “If we could begin to trim some of those costs, there would be billions of dollars going into the economy for more productive use.”

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“The governor continues to oppose any single-payer government run health care system,” said Rachel Arrezola, a spokeswoman for Mr. Schwarzenegger.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/us/22calif.html?scp=1&sq=california%20democrat%20universal%20health&st=cse