Rising Up With Sonali, May 20, 2026
California voters are in the thick of a high-stakes primary race for governor, in which “single payer” healthcare, an issue that was once central, has been pushed to the sidelines. Of the top five candidates, only one has unequivocally adopted a model of healthcare that would put the United States on par with the rest of the industrialized world.
Billionaire Tom Steyer, running as a Democrat, says single payer is the only way to bring down spiraling healthcare costs. But in 2020, Steyer ran for President on a platform touting a “public option,” and attacking Presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders’ single payer healthcare plan. Now, Steyer has reversed that position, earning the coveted endorsement of the California Nurses Association (CNA), one of the state’s most aggressive proponents of single payer.
Dr. Paul Song is a member of Physicians for a National Health Program and the former co-chair of the Campaign for a Healthy California. He spoke with Sonali Kolhatkar about what it would take to make single payer healthcare a reality in California.
