A bill transforming California’s healthcare system into a single-payer model would cost $400 billion, a sum that widely surpasses the state’s $125 billion budget.
According to a legislative analysis, the state could seek various waivers to help pay for the program through Obamacare provisions and Medicaid, but to fully fund the system lawmakers would need to add a 15 percent payroll tax. The cost would largely be offset by current state, federal and private spending on healthcare in California, but total costs would still increase by roughly $50 billion to $100 billion a year.
The bill, the Healthy California Act, would eliminate health insurance companies and would cover people who are in the country illegally. It would operate in a similar way as the federal Medicare program, and would include no out-of-pocket costs for residents.
Two-thirds of California’s Assembly and Senate must approve the tax increases, and even if the bill is signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, the waivers would need the approval of the Trump administration. Medicare and Medicaid would be expected to pay for about half the program.
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California's single-payer pricetag: $400 billion https://t.co/NCxld42VNo pic.twitter.com/wW0ghXEkTk
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) May 23, 2017
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