Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) released the following statement on health care:
“Yesterday, Republicans in the U.S. Senate released a cynical plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act, posing a real and immediate threat to millions of Californians who only have health coverage because of the ACA.
“Preparing California to meet this threat must be the top health care priority for the Legislature, Governor Brown, and organizations that advocate for increasing access to health care.
“As someone who has long been a supporter of single payer, I am encouraged by the conversation begun by Senate Bill 562.
“However, SB 562 was sent to the Assembly woefully incomplete. Even senators who voted for SB 562 noted there are potentially fatal flaws in the bill, including the fact it does not address many serious issues, such as financing, delivery of care, cost controls, or the realities of needed action by the Trump Administration and voters to make SB 562 a genuine piece of legislation.
“In light of this, I have decided SB 562 will remain in the Assembly Rules Committee until further notice.
“Because this is the first year of a two-year session, this action does not mean SB 562 is dead. In fact, it leaves open the exact deep discussion and debate the senators who voted for SB 562 repeatedly said is needed.
“The Senate can use that time to fill the holes in SB 562 and pass and send to the Assembly workable legislation that addresses financing, delivery of care, and cost control.
“The fight for single payer also is moving forward on other fronts. The head of the Campaign for a Healthy California, an organization created to pass SB 562, has acknowledged their ultimate goal is to get a single payer initiative on the ballot, and there remains ample time for them to pursue that before November 2018.
“As those potential options work themselves out, the Assembly will stand with our partners to focus on the real, immediate threat to Californians' health care posed by Republicans in Washington.”