‘The System Is Not Sustainable’ – Tom Steyer on Why California Needs Single-payer Healthcare

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]If you look at single payer systems across the world, they cost about half as much as our system and they deliver health care outcomes that are at least as good as our system.

[00:00:13]When you ask me how long it's going to take, I will start on day one and I will get going on day one and this is why the nurses support me is they know I'm absolutely serious about this.

[00:00:24]The idea that the system we have is sustainable is not true. If we're going to do and and you can see that because what we're seeing every year is the state taking away health care in one way or another from Californians. So, first they started by saying we had said we will cover everybody regardless of immigration status. They changed that.

[00:00:48]When the Donald Trump put through a bill last year which kicks somewhere between one to three million Californians off Medical.

[00:00:59]That is considered to be if you look at the May revised budget, that's a nine billion dollar hole in terms of what the federal government used to pay for that now the state is going to have to pay for if we're going to deliver the same service. Nine billion dollar hole. The May revise sends one hundred million dollars down to fill a nine billion dollar hole. So, in answer to your question, do we have a choice on this?

[00:01:23]We really don't. And it's there is an answer here. I'm not saying that and we have to start working on it on day one because it will working through and getting the details right is incredibly important. But do we have to do this? We actually have to do this and I'm the person in this race who said I'm absolutely committed to this because I'm committed to health care as a right for Californians. We are the only industrialized country in the world that does not provide health care for everybody.