Single Payer Health Care Would Cost Californians $400 Billion

Single-payer healthcare is gaining a lot of traction lately, especially in liberal strongholds like California. Last week we detailed how New York’s idea for single-payer healthcare could quadruple the citizen’s tax burden in the state, but it’s even worse in California.

A single-payer health care system in California (a communist’s dream cause among the state’s progressive flank) would cost $400 billion annually, according to a legislative analysis released on Monday. “Annually” means that that $400 billion would be needed every year, not just the year of implementation. That number is more than four times the low estimated cost of New York’s plan. But that cost is likely to be a low estimate as well, considering the government never actually gets their numbers right. They always underestimate to lessen the blow to those whose livelihoods will be stolen to pay for this monstrosity.” Get the government involved in healthcare,” they said. “It will be fun,” they said.

So, just where does California think they can come up with $4oo billion a year to implement a Venezuela-style healthcare system in their state? Well, the burden will fall on the taxpayer of course. As if there aren’t enough reasons to move from California now, the state just seems to insist on going to full blown communism right before our eyes.

According to the LA Times, the analysis, released in advance of the proposal’s hearing in a key fiscal committee, fills in what has so far been the biggest unanswered question concerning the plan to dramatically overhaul California’s health care coverage: how to pay for this “free” healthcare. The proposal would require:

• A total cost of $400 billion per year to cover all health care and administrative costs.
• Of that, $200 billion of existing federal, state and local funds could be repurposed to go toward the single-payer system.
• The additional $200 billion would need to be raised from new taxes.

California is considering proposing an increase in the income tax of 15%. Meaning the burden would fall on those likely already living paycheck to paycheck. Although there is not a tax increase in the bill itself to pay for the government’s health care, and a 2/3 majority would be needed to approve the new tax, if any state can ram this kind of a tax hike through, it’s California. But it’s the next step that could make or break the bill. The communists in California don’t seem concerned about the tax burden.

SB 562, titled the Healthy California Act, must go before the state Senate appropriations committee in Sacramento. If it doesn’t pass, it dies right there. SB 562 would establish a nine-member board to oversee health care in the state. That sounds like a great idea; leaving your healthcare decisions up to nine strangers. It would also create a trust fund where federal health care dollars would go to help pay for the program.

Nonetheless, it seems like a majority of Californias are all but demanding that the government make their healthcare choices for them. We live in scary times when history is flung aside for the perceived safety net of government run healthcare. It will be amusing to see Californian workers flee in droves for not being able to afford the massive tax increase that will be tossed their way.

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