Gavin Newsom Vows Universal Healthcare for All of California’s Illegal Immigrants

Democrat California gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newson said in an interview released Tuesday that, as governor, he would grant universal health care to illegal aliens through an executive order.

Newsom told Pod Save America hosts Jon Favreau and Jon Lovett that he was “very proud” of creating the nation’s only universal healthcare plan for illegal immigrants as mayor of San Francisco.

FAVREAU: Let’s talk about something very costly– single-payer health care. You’ve been very supportive over the course of the campaign—

NEWSOM: —Yeah

FAVREAU: You’ve expressed, in the past, support for Senate bill 562, single-payer health care in California.

NEWSOM: —That was amended. Yes.

FAVREAU: Right, so, it passed the State Senate, it died in Assembly. As governor, do you hope the revive that bill? Do you want to see a new bill?

NEWSOM: —Yeah

FAVREAU: How do you plan to get single-payer health care passed?

NEWSOM: It needs to be pulled into the governor’s office. The executive needs to lead it. Obamacare would not have happened if it was just exclusively a legislative fiat — that said — and Nancy Pelosi did a magical job of organizing it, but it required the concerted contributions of the president of the United States. The only way in a state whose population that is larger than 163 nations — California — whose economy is larger than all of four nations — fifth largest economy — to approximate a strategy for universal health care with the support and concurrence of the governor. Frankly, that’s not an indictment, it’s just what’s been missing in the past. So, I’d bring that into my office. I brought it well beyond a bill that basically started a process. If you read 562, the vast majority of elected officials that were for and against it didn’t — Did not. For and against did not, because they would have actually known what it said.

It would have created a committee that began a process to come up with a strategy and a plan to finance and organize with 34 prescribed benefits, a universal strategy for single-payer financing. That process can be done without a bill. That process should be done by the next governor and I’m committed to it for no other reason than health care is devouring our budget. Health care in this state is the biggest driver of our unfunded retirement benefits. It’s a driver of a lot of our costs, not the least of which at the UC and CSU. I serve on both those boards. Tuition is impacted by the costs of employment, personnel costs are impacted by health care. It’s the issue that animates most of the voters I talk to, still, even in this post-Obamacare world. The inflationary burdens are self-evident and the vandalism these guys are doing on the federal level is only going to make things worse. I’d like to see if we could control our own destiny. I’m not naive about it. I did universal health care when I was Mayor. Fully implemented, regardless of pre-existing conditions, ability to pay, and regardless of your immigration status. San Franciso is the only universal health care plan for all undocumented residents in America. Very proud of that. We proved it could be done without bankrupting the city. I’d like to see that extended to the rest of the state.