The single-payer healthcare bill would have benefitted both employers and workers, Kalra says. But demand for single-payer insurance may be on the rise. The mass layoffs and business closures at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic demonstrated why America's private healthcare system, which largely links health insurance to employment status, is a terrible idea. Assemblyman Kalra joined the "Pitchfork Economics" podcast to talk about his CalCare proposal and make the economic case for single-payer healthcare in the United States. "One of the key indicators of whether someone died from COVID was whether they had gaps in their health insurance or not," Kalra said.

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