The California Senate has passed a bill that would eliminate private health insurance in the state and replace it with a single-payer system.  The bill now moves on to the General Assembly, where supporters are confident that it will pass. Amid the celebrations by Democrats at the historic vote, lawmakers neglected to explain one tiny detail of the plan: how in the name of all that is good and holy are they going to pay for the $400-billion-a-year price tag? CBS News: In a study commissioned by the California Nurses Association, which is the lead sponsor for the bill, researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst said Californians could save billions of dollars under the system, in part, because of lower drug prices and because families would no longer have to pay copays, deductibles or premiums, CBS San Francisco reports. The measure would have died if it failed to clear the Senate this week. Democrats said they wanted to keep it alive as the...(Read Full Post)