My essay on California si
From
Matthew Munson@VERT/IUTOPIA to
All on Sun Apr 30 10:08:00 2017
I understand that our progressive friends want single payer health care
where government manages it all. However single payer is not all that
glamorous when you read the ugly stories in Canada and the United Kingdom
about their system. It was predicted that the Affordable Care Act was
basically training wheels for Single Payer because right now the system is ready to derail big time in the next few years. Certain states are going to have NO insurance company as part of their health care exchanges because insurance companies are unwilling to partake in the government system no
matter if it is federal or state managed.
Enter SB 562, Californiaÿs effort in having a single payer health care
system. Co-written by Senators Lara and Atkins it is called the ÿHealthy California Actÿ, where the authors strive to improve access to health care.
I agree that something should be done when insurance premiums are
approaching almost 10 thousand dollars for a family. However, the bad point
of the bill is no private option.
The health plans that people rely on will be shuddered thanks to this legislation. Many people in California love Kaiser Pernamente due to it
being the Mercedes Benz of health care plans. With this new law, we will be forced into the government system or if you are wealthy you would have to
go out of state to pay cash for the health care you need.
The big fear of SB 562 is the reimbursement rates, I would expect to see a health care provider shortage when doctors decide to either retire or move
out of California. Medi-Cal currently has a provider shortage due to reimbursement rates. The Democratic Party would likely need to have
programs where if one gets educated at the UC medical school they would be required to take care of patients in the state program for a decade in
exchange for a modest salary.
I think the authors of SB 562 need to go back to the drawing board and come
up with an idea like Medicare Part C and D and the Australian health care system. Government cannot do it all despite many believing it can. Public option can coexist with a Private option.
Fiscally, even if we are paying a 9% tax to help fund the program, will it
be sustainable? States such as Vermont crashed and burn when they tried
single payer. The California Public Employee Retirement System also has
funding shortfalls as well. I am skeptical of California politicians
managing money if I trusted Bernie Madoff to manage my portfolio.
Also, the new California tax is actually regressive when it comes to low
income workers. One would be paying the unsubsidized price before ACA
subsidies which would take away money that one may need for their car
payment or groceries. Democrats are criticizing Trump for doing similar things.
Due to the Super Majority this bill is likely to pass no matter if you like
it or not to infer from a quote from Gavin Newsom when he was speaking how equal marriage rights was inevitable. However, this bill needs to go back
to the drawing board. We need to come up with solutions to improve the
supply of medical providers, how would the authors deal with the issue of
big health care networks controlled by the private sector deciding to shut
down where private hospitals such as Kaiser Pernamente will fold in
California, how would the authors make the payroll tax equitable to low
income workers.
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