About single payer healthcare

The mood was instantly productive when a group of Business For Good members sat down with new California Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins on January 19. It helps when these small business owners have been part of the Senator’s in-district life for a few years now: her 2017 small business of the year winner Ponce’s Mexican Restaurant; The Rose Wine Bar; Diamond & Branch; and The Moore Firm have all regularly crossed paths with Sen. Atkins in the community for a while now.

SB562 – the single payer healthcare bill proposed in 2017 – was at the heart of the conversation.  And while it sounds like it’s highly unlikely to be re-introduced in this legislative session, there was no disagreement about the amount of work ahead to make this a serious issue worth supporting in the future. Once the financing models are proposed and analyzed more thoroughly, local small businesses are intrigued by the bill’s potential, Namely, the opportunity to level the playing with big corporations who have a disproportionate advantage in attracting and retaining talent, simply by being able to pay for expensive health benefits that are out of reach for small businesses.