California prides itself on being a national leader in progressive politics. From equal pay to clean energy to immigration rights, the Golden State’s greatest legislative achievements are rooted in civil and human rights and economic equity.

California’s implemented automatic voter registration to protect voting rights for millions of residents. The state is a global leader on climate change issues and led the country on decriminalizing misdemeanor drug offenses, passing stricter gun laws and protecting civil liberties for the LGBT community.

It is time for the great state of California to get serious about future-forward solutions such as single-payer health care, also known as “Medicare for all.” In fact, we have a unique opportunity to rally the nation on this progressive cause, especially because such a system is within our reach.

Although the GOP failed to repeal Obamacare, their threats to Medicaid, Social Security Disability and Obamacare subsidies are ongoing. To make matters worse for Californians, Anthem Blue Cross just announced that it will end coverage for most of the state in 2018, and Covered California “exchange” customers will face an average of 12.5 percent in premium increases.

After the U.S. Senate vote last week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell gave a speech saying that the American people were hurting and needed relief. Surprisingly, he also made a soft call for gauging the interest of the American people in single payer health care.

Americans do need relief — and a positive move toward a tangible health care solution. For too long, Americans have been stuck in a cycle of political theater that has kept millions locked in fear and uncertainty over losing access to affordable care.

Haven’t our families faced enough distress over the cruel and heartless threats against affordable health care? Doesn’t California have a moral obligation to its own residents?

Recent polls have shown that up to 70 percent of Californians favor a single-payer health care system that provides everyone with the health care they need, regardless of age, state of health, or employment status. The “Healthy California Act,” (SB 562), when resubmitted and passed, could potentially cover all Californians and save the state nearly $40 billion each year. Families and businesses would see significant savings in health care spending. There would be no crushing premiums, high deductibles or co-pays for covered services. Among the other benefits, no coverage denials based on corporate profit goals.

The result? A Medicare for All system that focuses on the well-being of our families, friends and communities over corporate bottom lines.

My wife and I have had Medicare for the past six years. Becoming a Medicare beneficiary was cause for celebration. It eliminated worry, particularly because our family went without health insurance for 10 years while I worked on starting a new nonprofit organization.

Americans are ready for easy and equitable health care solutions. According to a Pew Research Center survey released earlier this year, 60 percent of Americans (up from 51 percent a decade ago) say that the federal government should be responsible for making sure everyone has health care coverage. This includes 52 percent of Republicans with family incomes below $30,000 and 34 percent of Republicans with incomes between $30,000-$74,999 — twice the number of supporters in 2016.

Moreover, the political space is more favorable to single payer than it’s been for decades, despite Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon’s block of SB 562. There is a steady endorsement of a single payer system by political and business influentials, including former President Jimmy Carter, former Vice President Al Gore, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.). Let’s not forget that President Trump at one point praised Australia’s universal health care system. Even unlikely health care CEOs, many of them Republicans, and business tycoons such as Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger and California’s Tom Steyer are urging a debate.

Instead of battles over individual mandates and eliminating resources for the most vulnerable, we must seriously reassess a move to a single payer health care system that guarantees health care for all.

From the chambers of Congress to the California Assembly, the signals for big change are clear. It’s time to get serious about “Medicare for all.”

Andrew McGuire is executive director of California OneCare, a campaign to establish a “Medicare for All” type health insurance for all state residents.