Nobody on the right realizes just how close we came to having single payer, and instead we got a market based healthcare system that is focused at the regional level. When Sjoyce was trying to push for Single Payer, we fought back and outmaneuvered him. I am hesitant to say this (because they might try to reverse it 
), but we basically got Labor to vote to repeal almost every ACA regulation at the Federal level.
Let's not rewrite history too much, shall we?
Yankee, at no point was single-payer seriously considered because:
1. I have always preferred the multi-payer German system over single-payer, and the original bill (which became the RRPHA) I introduced would not have established a single-payer system.
2. I am the longest-serving Labor member of the Senate; I essentially lead the Labor "caucus" (small as it might be because it's a 6-member body), and I made clear to wavering Laborites, including SJoyce, that multi-payer was what we were pushing for. And we got it done. With a Labor-controlled Senate.
So no, we never came close to having single-payer. Yet the bill we passed was the largest expansion of public healthcare since the creation of Medicare and Medicaid. The ACA was "repealed" because its provisions were no longer necessary, since the RRPHA made access to healthcare truly universal. We did not "repeal" the ACA because the Federalists pushed us to. So let's put that myth to rest.
I disagree. Were it not for our bill we would have eventually had Single payer. You won't be there forever."Our bill," as in a bill that was constructed by members of, uh, both parties. My point is I wasn't pushed to support ACA repeal by the conservatives here. In fact, I questioned whether ACA repeal was necessary or not because the alternative I had in mind would have been better, because it would have expanded public healthcare
more than the ACA did.
AtlasCare is still available to all populations, and regions can easily make AtlasCare the single provider without running into the same problems that, say, Vermont did.
Okay, it consolidated programs to cut red tape and simplify the public system. It's still going to result in more people being on public care and guarantee coverage to those who opt for private care.
Would we have ended up with a single-payer at some point? Maybe. But since, I believe, last summer, the Federalists have been in control of either the White House or one house of Congress.
But yes, it is possible single-payer will be back on the table eventually. Maybe next time I'll support it.
