SACRAMENTO – Today, Assemblymember Kalra (D-San José), with joint-authors Assemblymembers Bryan (D-Los Angeles), Lee (D-San José), Ortega (D-San Leandro), and Rogers (D-Santa Rosa), and in partnership with the CA Nurses Association, re-introduced legislation to create a single-payer healthcare system in California, known as CalCare.
“I am proud to introduce AB 1900 to initiate a transition to a single-payer health care coverage system. With CalCare, healthcare will be recognized as a human right—offering a stark contrast to the current status quo, where we invest the most in care yet experience some of the poorest health outcomes,” said Assemblymember Kalra. “Access to healthcare should never be determined by your employment, location, gender or sexual orientation, age, or pre-existing conditions. In light of devastating cuts from the federal government, we must reject the inequities of the worsening system and fight for a better future for all Californians. We cannot afford to wait any longer. I strongly believe passing the policy legislation of CalCare, then following the process outlined in the Affordable Care Act to secure federal waivers and funding is our best path forward.”
An overwhelming majority of Democrats – 86 percent – support single-payer health care, according to data released this week. Uncertainty and anxiety about health care costs have been rising – exacerbated by unprecedented trillion-dollar cuts at the federal level – with more than 40 percent of voters saying it’s become harder to afford health care in the past several years.
Including Assemblymember Kalra and joint-authors, AB 1900 is coauthored by 20 legislators.The principal coauthors are Assemblymembers Connolly (D-San Rafael), Elhawary (D-South Los Angeles), and Schultz (D-Burbank) and Senators Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) and McGuire (D-Healdsburg). The coauthors include Assemblymembers Garcia (D-Rancho Cucamonga), Haney (D-San Francisco), Harabedian (D-Pasadena), Jackson (D-Moreno Valley), McKinnor (D-Inglewood), and Rodriguez (D-San Fernando) and Senators Becker (D-Menlo Park), Cortese (D-San José), Laird (D-Santa Cruz), and Renée Perez (D-Pasadena).
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Assemblymember Ash Kalra represents California’s 25th Assembly District, which encompasses the majority of San José, including downtown and open space areas in southeast Santa Clara County. He was first elected in 2016, becoming the first Indian American to serve in the California Legislature in state history, and was re-elected to his fifth term in 2024. Assemblymember Kalra is the Chair of the Committee on Judiciary and also serves as a member on the Housing & Community Development, Labor & Employment, Natural Resources, and Utilities & Energy committees.