So how come single payer initiative got slaughtered in Oregon, 80-20% a few yrs. ago?
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I can't say why other voters made that choice, but I can comment on why I voted against the proposal.
First, shortly before the election the measure was polling to be a fairly tight contest, so it didn't seem like a good idea to make a symbolic statement of support if I didn't want the proposal to actually pass. If I had known it would go down to such a spectacular defeat, I would certainly have voted yes.
Second, having a state health care system rather than a national one is problematic. For example, will patients needing very expensive care move to Oregon?
Lastly, the proposal was very ill-defined and left most of the decisions about how the program would actually be run to a committee to be formed after passage. If Oregon implemented a single payer system that was a prominent disaster, it would be harmful to efforts to establish a national program.
Unfortunately, the huge margin of defeat is now regularly cited as evidence that voters don't want national health care. It's not clear to me that the vote should be interpreted this way.
-Alex
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