As a self-employed freelance photographer for 30-plus years, Caroline Greyshock became a sought-after talent for shooting music promotional photos and album covers. Her portfolio includes Billy Idol, Bonnie Raitt, Arlo Guthrie and many others.

Now 58 and living in Palm Desert, Greyshock's eyes are focused on the calmer world of home and garden photography — still sometimes with celebrities. Backstage access now means seeing the backyard.

One perk the job doesn't offer is health insurance. After her divorce, Greyshock enrolled in coverage available through the Affordable Care Act last year and liked what she got, although she knows the law hasn't worked so perfectly for everyone.

Greyshock has high blood pressure, which she keeps in line with medication, and two gastrointestinal conditions, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, which she's able to manage through diet and exercise.

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A Republican-led plan to repeal the ACA, also commonly called Obamacare, would almost certainly put Greyshock among the millions of Americans who would lose their current health plans.

"It frightens me," she said. "I heard that if you do have pre-existing conditions you're going to be charged more, and I can't pay for that."

If the coverage became unaffordable, Greyshock said, she'd likely go without insurance and have to pay for her blood pressure medication on her own.

The Republican proposal passed the U.S. House May 4 and now goes to the Senate, where it faces more opposition and could be substantially altered.

Greyshock sees hope in the increasing talks, especially among left-leaning politicians and activists, for single payer, the term for a government health insurance program that would be available to any American. The concept is also often called Medicare for all and is similar to health care plans in other countries.

"Being healthy is a right," she said. "We should have access to affordable health care. Whenever you put profits in, people are going to get greedy. And in our country it’s a profit-driven program."

Under ACA, Greyshock has been able to see a nearby doctor and qualifies for financial breaks that bring her monthly cost down to $103. She considers that a deal, especially because her pre-existing health conditions require regular doctor checkups.

"Both of my parents had extremely high blood pressure, and unfortunately they both died of strokes," she said.

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In Sacramento, a proposed bill would create a single-payer health plan to cover all California residents for so-called essential health benefits (a list of services including mental health, maternity care, prescription drugs covered by the Affordable Care Act), plus vision and dental care. A Senate committee approved the bill April 26.

“Our constituents shouldn’t have to experience the anxiety of not knowing whether they’ll be covered based on who’s occupying the White House or what party is in the majority in Capitol Hill," state Sen. Toni Atkins of San Diego, one of two Democratic sponsors of the bill, said at the hearing.

“Even if (Obamacare) survives, its benefits haven’t reached everyone in California, and we can do better at driving down health care costs for our families and individuals," she said.

Critics of the proposal, SB 562, point to its expected high cost and wince at the suggestion of another state tax hike to cover it. In 2007, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar single-payer bill citing the $210 billion cost estimate for its first year and projected annual shortfalls of $42 million.

State Assembly Republican Leader Chad Mayes of Yucca Valley said in a statement: "Asking ordinary Californians to foot a bill in the hundreds of billions of dollars for a government health program they don’t want is ridiculous."

State Sen. Jeff Stone, a Temecula Republican whose district includes the Coachella Valley, said the bill could turn going into a doctor into as much a headache as going to the DMV.

"It's socialized medicine in what is an increasingly socialized state," Stone said.

The bill does not replace privately run health care providers with state providers, although it would block insurance companies from offering the same health coverage as the state plan.

In a statement, Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia of Coachella, a Democrat, did not endorse the bill but said, "The idea of a single-payer system sounds great but as the Legislature we must be pragmatic. Given the uncertain fate of the Affordable Care Act, California must explore and thoroughly review all viable options, including SB 562.”

Even with tepid interest from some Democrats, SB 562 is more likely to advance than any single-payer plans introduced in Washington, where Republicans control all branches of government.

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In the U.S. House, more than 100 Democrats have signed on as cosponsors of a single-payer plan introduced by Rep. John Conyers of Michigan. In the Senate, Bernie Sanders of Vermont has said he will introduce his own plan.

Rep. Raul Ruiz, a La Quinta Democrat, is not among the official backers of Conyer's bill. Asked about the proposal in April, the emergency room doctor said he had not looked at the proposal closely but he supports efforts to bring about "universal care."

A Ruiz spokesman indicated earlier this month that the congressman's position has not changed.

Jimmi Kuehn-Boldt of Palm Springs is one of Ruiz's constituents working to see single-payer enacted, at least statewide. Following the election of Donald Trump in November, Kuehn-Boldt became involved in the local chapter of the grassroots group Courageous Resistance. During a recent anti-Trump Tax Day rally in Palm Springs, he helped gather more than 300 signatures on a petition in support of SB 562.

"I'm not mad as hell, but I do think it's unfair," he said of the current U.S. health system. "Health care is a right."

At 63, Kuehn-Boldt will soon be eligible for Medicare, and although he's on disability now, he has insurance through an employer. His plan helps cover the care he needs as a long-time HIV survivor and issues like depression he's dealt with throughout his adult life.

But he remembers when not everyone had access to that level of coverage.

"California has the sixth largest economy on the globe," he said. "California has led on so many things. This might be a way to get it in the door in our country and show it can be a success."

Health reporter Barrett Newkirk can be reached at (760)778-4767, barrett.newkirk@desertsun.com or on Twitter @barrettnewkirk.