Podcast

Capitol Weekly Podcast: Asm. Ash Kalra on AB 1400

This episode we welcome California Assemblymember Ash Kalra to talk about the biggest bill of 2022 so far: AB 1400, the California Guaranteed Health Care for All Act. The bill (and a companion Constitutional amendment, ACA 11) would create Cal-Care, a single-payer healthcare system administrated by the state, guaranteeing health care for all Californians.

The bill has so far made swift headway in the Democratic-controlled Assembly: it easily passed the Health and Appropriations Committees earlier this month. The bill faces its next hurdle today, Monday, January 31 – the deadline for two-year bills to be advanced from their house of origin.

Kalra spoke with Capitol Weekly’s John Howard and Tim Foster about his hopes for the bill, how it differs from its predecessor SB 562, and why he believes that California needs a single-payer system (as opposed to a different form of Universal Health Care.) He also reflects on the substantial campaign mounting opposition to the measure.

And once we got past all that, we asked him the important question: is he really an Iron Maiden fan? Plus – who had the #WorstWeekCA?

Episode Notes

:34 What would AB 1400 do?

1:45 The difference between AB 1400 and ACA 11, and the costs

4:33 What happens on January 31?

4:54 The opposition

7:33 Can Single-Payer happen here? How is this bill different from SB 562?

10:56 Does the dynamic shift because this is an election year?

12:46 Where is Gov. Newsom on this?

14:13 Can California run a bureaucracy this big?

16:33 How does the payment system work? Reimbursements?

19:05 How does Cal-Care work with employer-based health care?

20:58 If AB 1400 is signed, when would ACA 11 go on the ballot?

121:34 Do you make dinner for your Dad every day?

22:42 Iron Maiden? For real?

23:24 Gratuitous David Quintana reference

25:51 The #WorstWeekCA

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