LOS ANGELES — During the same weekend that California took its first steps toward securing universal health coverage, the state’s top three Democratic Senate candidates emphasized that the issue remains very much a part of the health care debate.
While the issue has stalled at the federal level, the push toward single-payer health care continues to resonate as a campaign issue for Democrats. Advocates of a unified health system have mostly rallied behind “Medicare for All,” a federal effort that would fund medically necessary care for U.S. residents through taxes.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the chamber’s biggest proponent of Medicare for All, held the last congressional hearing on the policy in May 2022 while serving as Senate Budget chairman. But the hearing did not spark any new momentum for the bill and mostly served as a forum for partisan debate. And while President Joe Biden campaigned for a public option health system, he has resisted supporting Medicare for All.
