California ranks first in single-payer devastation with CalCare – Orange County Register

California Democrats have renewed their mandate to take over the state’s health insurance system.

The state Assembly’s Health Committee passed legislation effectively banning private health insurance and forcing all Californians into a government-run program called CalCare. By some estimates, the plan calls for raising taxes to at least $163 billion and keeping people waiting for long-term, potentially deadly care.

California Democrats have been dreaming of a single payer for years. While campaigning for governor in 2017, Gavin Newsom told voters they had a “firm and absolute commitment” that he would “lead the effort” of universal health care in California.

With the promise of an incoming governor sympathetic to the cause, several state senators in 2017 introduced Senate Bill 562, which would establish a single payer statewide. . It passed the state Senate. But Councilmember Anthony Rendon killed off the bill, calling it “unfortunately incomplete.”

Really incomplete. Although the one-time payer would cost California $400 billion per year, more than three times the total annual budget of the state general fund, the 2017 law proposes no funding mechanism.

Last year, Congressman Ash Kalra, D-San Jose, and other Democratic lawmakers introduced AB 1400, a near-exact copy of the 2017 law, citing a lack of funding.

This month, they finally revealed plans to fund the ambitions of payers alone. It would essentially double the state’s tax burden.

The proposal includes a 2.3% tax on the total sales of a business over $2 million. That bill is due regardless of whether the business is profitable or not.

It includes an additional graduate payroll tax for employees of businesses with more than 50 workers and a higher income tax for Californians earning more than $149,509.

Those taxes would deduct more than $160 billion a year — more than California’s increase in total tax revenue in any year prior to 2020. Overall, California’s top marginal tax rate would rise to more than 18. % – almost four times the national average.

For those in the top quintile, more than half of every marginal dollar they earn goes to the state coffers.

If tariffs of that level sound unprecedented and unreasonable, that’s because they are. California already has one of the highest costs of living in the country. Another tax hike could drive more residents and businesses out of the state.

Fortunately, pushing CalCare through the legislature won’t be easy. Congressman Kalra introduced Congress’s 11th Constitutional Amendment to pass tax increases and constitutional changes to allow the legislature to raise taxes to fund one-time payers by simple majority, instead as a two-thirds majority is required under applicable law. That received the approval of two-thirds of both legislative chambers and a majority of voters.

California voters also may not be overly concerned with government-run health care. A new survey conducted by California Agents and Health Insurance Professionals finds that nearly two-thirds of California voters oppose single payer.

No wonder why. Look at how overseas lump sum systems treat their patients.

In the UK, one in 10 residents – nearly 6 million people – are stuck on a government waiting list for hospital care. The delays are so severe that more than 20% of patients have to pay out-of-pocket for private healthcare services.