Carmen Comsti is the lead regulatory policy specialist for the California Nurses Association / National Nurses United (CNA/NNU). PANA has had the honor and pleasure of having her join previous forums we have held to address the need for comprehensive healthcare reform. She has also served for the last two years on Governor Newsom’s Healthy California for All Commission on behalf of the nurses in CNA/NNU and our single-payer movement in California, appointed to that body in December 2019.
Gavin Newsom was elected to CA governor, in large part, because he promised to deliver single-payer healthcare reform to all Californians. The purpose of the Commission was to develop a plan for such a major reform “through a unified financing system, including, but not limited to a single payer financing system,” and to deliver a report with its findings by 2021.
The research and discussions held by the Commission occurred at the same time the grass-roots movement for single-payer reform continued at the ground level, a movement that PANA has been a part of since its inception. Our last attempt, AB 1400, fell short of votes needed in the CA Assembly, once again due to the monied interest controlling a majority of elected officials in Sacramento.
Carmen Comsti shares her views on how, despite the forward strides of the larger “Medicare-for-All” movement made in the past few years, the Commission failed to meet the obligations of its mission to move the state towards a single-payer healthcare system. Please read her statement here:
https://medicareforall.medium.com/why-i-voted-no-on-the-healthy-california-for-all-commission-final-report-ccbb019c151f
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