Newsom Memoryholes Support For Single-Payer Health Care
California Governor Gavin Newsom has publicly criticized President Trump for perceived authoritarian tendencies, while critics point out that Newsom himself is ignoring legal requirements related to his signature policy: single-payer healthcare. In October 2023, newsom signed SB 770, aiming to establish a unified healthcare financing system and requiring the California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS) to produce several reports and proposals, including federal waiver applications. However, recent disclosures reveal that CalHHS has delayed or failed to produce these documents, and the UCLA report made in response does not meet the law’s specific legal and procedural requirements. Public engagement around SB 770 has been minimal, and the agency has avoided transparency, raising questions about Newsom’s commitment to implementing single-payer healthcare. despite promising to pursue universal health coverage, recent actions suggest an effort to downplay or abandon the initiative, possibly due to political and federal obstacles, including the potential disruption from Donald Trump’s management. Critics argue that Newsom’s shifting positions and lack of transparency indicate political expediency rather than genuine commitment, which could harm his presidential aspirations.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom denounced what he views as President Trump’s authoritarianism: “There’s no rule of law. It’s the rule of Don.” He should talk, because he knows of which he speaks.
In recent months, the Golden State has witnessed the “rule of Gavin,” meaning whatever legal requirements hinder Newsom’s presidential ambitions get ignored. At issue is the policy that arguably got Newsom elected governor, and could unravel his future presidential campaign: single-payer health care.
In October 2023, Newsom signed SB 770 regarding a unified health care financing framework “such as a single-payer health care system.” The law required the California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS) to submit three reports: an interim report by January 1, 2025; a draft waiver framework by June 1, 2025; and a finalized waiver framework by November 1, 2025. This past March, I submitted public records requests of CalHHS for these documents, the first of which was more than a year overdue.
The department eventually sent me a link to a report published by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in late April. The document can’t be found anywhere on CalHHS’ own website — one indication of how badly Newsom wants to ignore SB 770 and single-payer. More importantly, the document doesn’t comply with the requirements of the law Newsom signed.
For instance, SB 770 states that the finalized waiver framework shall “set forth the specific elements to be included in a formal waiver application.” By contrast, the UCLA document states that “the specific details of what federal waivers and types of legislation are required to implement unified financing are beyond the scope of this report. Therefore, the key design considerations discussed in this chapter assume that these issues are resolved.”
SB 770 specified that CalHHS “shall, no later than January 1, 2025, also propose statutory language … authorizing the development and submission of applications to the federal government for waivers” to implement the new system. The UCLA report includes no such language, more than a year after that statutory deadline.
SB 770 also required “a 45-day public comment period” between publication of a draft framework and the finalized waiver. Comments that UCLA collected around an August 2024 webinar discussed how “multiple organizations seek inclusion in SB 770 discussions to ensure their concerns are addressed.” But any public engagement evaporated after that webinar, and UCLA completed its report behind closed doors.
Even someone with a 960 SAT score can understand that an options document written by university professors doesn’t make the specific policy decisions that Newsom committed himself to by signing SB 770. Even someone with a 960 SAT score knows why: because single-payer health care exposes Newsom as a smarmy politician who will say anything to get elected.
Some might argue that Trump’s reelection rendered SB 770 moot, because Trump officials will not approve the federal waivers necessary for California to enact single-payer. But others have expressed a different view:
“There’s no reason to wait around on universal health care and single-payer in California. If we can’t get it done next year, you have my firm and absolute commitment as your next governor that I will lead the effort to get it done. We will have universal health care in the state of California.”
Those words come from none other than Gavin Newsom himself, circa December 2017, during his first campaign for governor and Trump’s first term as president. Publicly acknowledging the futility of efforts to enact single-payer now would only highlight the disingenuous, cynical promises Newsom made to get elected governor in the first place — not a good way to launch a presidential campaign. Instead, Newsom and CalHHS have worked to bury SB 770, hoping to avoid scrutiny of his shifting positions.
CalHHS confirmed that not a single reporter, from California or nationally, requested the long-delayed reports on SB 770. Apparently, a quiescent press would rather not question the Democratic presidential front-runner. But the leftist activists for whom single-payer constitutes a Holy Grail won’t take kindly to seeing their shibboleth ignored. His administration may keep running away from single-payer, but on a presidential campaign, Gavin Newsom won’t be able to hide.
Chris Jacobs is founder and CEO of Juniper Research Group and author of the book “The Case Against Single Payer.” He is on Twitter: @chrisjacobsHC.
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