California Will Again Weigh Single-Payer Health Care in 2024

California state assemblyperson Ash Kalra is preparing to reintroduce a bill early next year that would create a program known as CalCare to provide the same package of health-care benefits to all residents and make the state solely responsible for reimbursing providers. This time around, the effort has more momentum, but still faces a number of obstacles.

With hundreds of billions in new costs saddling the state, California would need to raise taxes to finance the program. New taxes require approval from a two-thirds majority of lawmakers, a feat even in a state with a Democratic supermajority. Governor Gavin Newsom ...