Democratic Senator Mark Leno made the case for single-payer health care to the Appropriations committee.
LENO:"It is publically funded, privately and competitively provided health care. So your doctor doesn't change, your clinic doesn't change, your hospital doesn't change."
He said creating a state agency to make health payments would be like expanding Medi-Care to cover everyone, and that would cut administrative costs of care.
But Marc Burgat of the California Chamber of Commerce said a new system would be a costly distraction from federal health reforms already underway.
BURGAT: "We think that the state, and the businesses in the state should focus on that. We believe that trying to implement at that time a California only one-payer system is simple counter-productive."
If Senate Appropriations passes the bill on Thursday, it will move on to the Senate floor.
