but I don't want it to be used as a litmus test for candidates because there's no clear path to enacting it anytime soon. We need candidates whom will commit to improving ACA and continuing to lay the foundation for SP/Medicare for all IMHO

Universal health care coverage should be the goal, in whatever form it takes.

Universal insurance without controlling the costs of health CARE is not really going to be possible. There's a reason that the ACA didn't try, because it would have been prohibitively expensive. One of the many selling points of the ACA was that it lowered long term costs to the federal budget. So regardless of which party tries to address universal coverage, unless they also address controlling costs, they'll blow up the budget or have to raise taxes significantly.

Single payer unfortunately is a problematic name for what everyone is really talking about. It's a bit like "global warming" wasn't just about temperature going up. "Single Payer" really can be a woven fabric of insurance methods that include everything from private insurance companies to Medicare/caid. The real point is just like so many of our international competition, the government is put into a position to control costs because they ultimately are the ones paying the bills.

The ACA will always need "fixing" year after year if ultimately we don't start controlling costs. And right now the ACA does very little in the way of health CARE cost containment.

Although it is an interesting idea.