SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a broad overhaul of health care on his first day in office Monday, promising to throw the financial power of the state into an effort to lower prescription drug costs, expand Obamacare so middle-class families can receive subsidies to buy insurance, and offer Medi-Cal coverage to undocumented immigrants up to age 26.
Newsom aides said the changes would be funded in part by a California version of the individual mandate — the former federal requirement that people carry health insurance or pay a penalty on their taxes. Congressional Republicans and President Trump repealed the mandate in 2017. Newsom would reinstate it on the state level.
Newsom offered little detail about how much the proposals would cost or what other changes would be needed to pay for them. Aides said more details would be available when the governor unveils his first budget Thursday. But leaders in the Democratic-dominated Legislature leaders say there is general support for the ideas.
[For more on this story by Joe Garofoli, go to https://www.sfchronicle.com/po...-battle-13515540.php]
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