If only there were some way to combine light rail and socialized medicine, it would be perfect.
With President Trump now vowing to put forward a replacement for the Affordable Care Act in March, some California politicians and healthcare advocates are once again promoting the idea of a state-run “single-payer” system
How could it possibly go wrong? Or how could it possibly not go wrong?
“Why wouldn’t we take this as an opportunity to create what we want in California?” Dr. Mitch Katz, head of L.A. County’s health department, said at a conference in December. He mentioned a single-payer system as a possible solution.
$40 billion reasons.
But a 2008 report from California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office found that even with a tax on Californians and the state’s pooled healthcare funds, the state would still be short more than $40 billion in the first full year of single-payer implementation.
“Where were they going to come up with the $40 billion?” said Micah Weinberg, president of the Economic Institute at the Bay Area Council. “It’s just not feasible to do as a state.”
Same place they'll come up with the money for light rail and for the unfunded pensions. The money tree.
Previous proposals in California suggested financing the agency by pooling the state’s current funding for Medicaid, Medicare and other health programs and then taxing employees 4% of their income and employers 7% of payroll.
Or 75% of payroll.
Even supporters tend to get nervous about single-payer when they realize it would affect everyone and might be a step down from their current insurance plan, Kominski said. People who currently get insurance through employers, for example, would receive coverage through the state.
If you like your doctor, you can move to Texas.
If Congress repeals the Affordable Care Act, California could pass its own mandate requiring that everyone have insurance and that employers provide insurance. The state could go a step further, requiring that employers cover part-time workers, who are currently not included in the law’s employer mandate.
California: We haven't lost enough jobs yet.