Single-payer healthcare has gained popularity in the Democratic Party, thanks in part to the advocacy of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Yet the scheme has been abandoned both in his own uber-liberal home state of Vermont , in Colorado, and in the liberal bastion of California.
In the Golden State, in fact, single-payer just suffered its second defeat in five years. So no, even Democratic-dominated states can’t make it happen, chiefly due to that pesky requirement of doubling everyone’s taxes to pay for it.
Assemblyman Ash Kalra, who authored California’s single-payer bill, pulled the proposal after it was clear that it didn’t have the votes to pass. The California Legislature is dominated by Democrats who have a veto-proof supermajority in both houses. Not a single Republican caused this vote to fail. This means that Democrats couldn’t even win over Democrats to support single-payer.