AnonymousBy Jon Abad
Calcare or AB 1400 is about to clear the California assembly on its way to becoming a law. It provides universal healthcare for all in California. It was introduced last year and it cleared health committee and it cleared appropriations committee last week, but must be approved by the full assembly before the end of January to stay alive. It will expand Medicare-like universal healthcare for all in California. It will cover 100% of medical expenses including dental, vision, prescription and long-term care just like in much of the rest of the world provides for all it’s citizens now.
Let’s face it…. The only reason anyone would be against this bill is if they worked for or paid by insurance or pharmaceuticals industry that will undoubtedly suffer the worst…..Clearly under this plan, over 90% of all California will end up spending less on healthcare than any added taxes to fund it.
Universal care isn’t perfect, people in other countries may complain about waiting a long time for non-life-threatening procedures or treatments. But way too many Americans only wished they had this option for waiting to afford life-saving treatments as half a million Americans go bankrupt from hospital bills every year….and countless more reluctantly have to choose to forgo life-saving treatment just so they can leave their life savings to loved ones……. It’s no wonder our life expectancy rate in the US are near the bottom in the list among industrialized nations with all of them having universal healthcare for all.
Over and over other countries have proven that universal care system is the best way to run healthcare. It works for the sickest and oldest here in the US with Medicare, doesn’t it? So why not expand it to all? It works in all of Europe and the rest of the world so why not here?
Medicare is still being funded by the same 1.45% payroll taxes that it was funded with when it started sixty years ago…. Can you point to any health insurers that can survive when two years without a rate increase? Private insurance spends up to 20% of premiums to administer healthcare while in single payer programs like Medicare, it only costs less than 2% to administer it as there’s no cost going to lobbying, marketing, profit and huge executive compensations.
Between employer and employees portion of healthcare insurance in the US, over $20k annually is spent on typical HMO insurance in this country for each family. At about $60k in median household income, this means half the US spends about a third of their income just on healthcare premiums! If you include health insurance cost to taxes we pay, don’t we pay more than taxes in any other countries with universal healthcare for all?
Did you know that the US spends over 18% of our GDP on healthcare while all other developed countries spend less than 13% of their GDP towards healthcare… That’s up to a trillion dollars annually we can save if this country adopted single-payer system that the rest of the world have already proven to work over the last past 80 years! Anyways, hope you would supported it, if not, at least state your concerns publicly so that it be incorporated into the final product. Here’s the proposed funding sources below:
Annual excise tax on businesses with $2 million income of 2.3%
Payroll tax for employers with 50 or more resident employees of 1.25%
For workers earning more than $49,000 a 1% payroll tax
Personal income tax for those earning $149,509 or over
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Go for it! Triple taxes to fund it! Why stop at free? Why don’t we pay people to get medical care since they cannot earn a living while in the doctors office? Doesn’t bother me one bit! I’ll be “ConservativeTexan” by the time this becomes law. Good luck suckers!
Can someone provide some actual numbers on how much taxation would go up and on what brackets to fund this? Has that been calculated?
Health care reform is needed (badly) and a minimal level of government provided universal coverage is the way to go. Coverage, not insurance or co-insurance or insurance subsidies.
That said, it NEEDS to be at the federal level. Otherwise, live in Ohio and need an expensive surgery? Move to California long enough for one state income tax cycle and off you go. (The courts will say if you pay state taxes you’re a resident and get resident services, duh.) Otherwise it will be some combination of bankrupt or majorly dysfunctional in a heartbeat.
This is similar to the broader skeleton in the closet that you can’t have robust, free, social services and fully open borders (in this case, state to state movement). Who wants free things? … everyone! Ask our European friends. It’s tearing them apart. It isn’t a dems vs. repubs kind of question… no one wants to talk about it because there’s no easy partisan upside to the conversation either way.
KOHN1 – no, every other civilized country in “the world” helps its citizens. Is that so nuts?
But doesn’t it have to be done country-wide, not state by state? What’s to prevent people living in Texas for coming to California for a free hernia repair, or whatever? I know that other countries have figured this out—they give tourists emergency care, but don’t just welcome foreigners for general health care needs. How does the proposed California law manage that? What about undocumented persons? Oh wait, looks like Transparent mentioned this already.
The increase in taxes needed to fund this will be substantially less costly for almost all than the present cost of insurance. And anyone who wants to hire private care or buy other coverage will still be able to do so. (Don’t think that the rich will forego their concierge services.)
I’m sorry but why does this fall on the middle class to fund this via taxes? Do they get to enroll? I notice that the employers don’t really have to pay for this if they have less than 50 Employees or make under a certain amount. That leaves out many of the employers here in SB but will tax a good majority of the “middle class” here in SB who can barely afford their rents, gas and groceries as it is. I cannot afford another payroll tax when my employer will not have to pay anything due to our size when my employer can afford a tax more than I can. NO THANK YOU! Next plan please or make this one better by taxing less on the middle [soon to be lower] class and more on the employers who make less than 2 million, they can afford it, I cannot! And Medicare isn’t all that great, you have to purchase supplemental insurance out of pocket to get any decent care.
If they are going to do this then it needs to be funded by EVERYONE, no exceptions based on income, size of company, etc.
Otherwise, it’s not “universal” because some people will pay for it and others will not and get it for absolutely no cost to them which is inherently unfair. Take this to court if it passes!
The writer didn’t mention the free coverage for illegal immigrants. Do we really need another magnet to draw people from the entire third world? This needs to be thought through carefully and looked at in detail.
I bet most “illegal immigrants” work harder than most of those complaining about them getting healthcare.
JB86 – The writer probably didn’t mention it because that has nothing to do with this legislation. Undocumented immigrants already have free coverage available under Medi-Cal. This is something else. Try to set aside the hate for a minute and do a little research.
4:53 p.m. Do you wonder how many would be out of jobs if we got rid of the telephone solicitors or the stock fund hypers or the spam telephone callers or the phony on line advertisers, etc.? Some things we are better off without.
4:53 p.m. Do you wonder how many would be out of jobs if we got rid of the telephone solicitors or the stock fund hypers or the spam telephone callers or the phony on line advertisers, etc.? Some things we are better off without.
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It doesn’t sound like there’s residency requirement which will attract businesses to come to this state….
SBTOWNIE
Actual numbers like in Medicare compared to private insurance? Private insurance spends up to 20% of premiums to administer healthcare while in single payer programs like Medicare, it only costs less than 2% to administer it as there’s no cost going to lobbying, marketing, profit and huge executive compensations….
That’s why the US spends over 18% of our GDP on healthcare while all other developed countries spend less than 13% of their GDP towards healthcare..
Between employer and employees portion of healthcare insurance in the US, over $20k annually is spent on typical HMO insurance in this country for each family. At about $60k in median household income, this means half the nation spends a third of their income just on healthcare premiums!
If you include health insurance cost to taxes we pay, don’t we pay more than taxes any other countries with universal healthcare pay?
Why not start in each state? Point is, it will attract people and businesses and grow the economy then other states will adopt it to gain back population…. Right?
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It’s true that it would hurt people in the insurance industry but help the rest….The only reason anyone would be against this bill is if they worked for or paid by insurance or pharmaceuticals industry that will undoubtedly suffer the worst…..Clearly under this plan, over 90% of all California will end up spending less on healthcare than any added taxes to fund it…
BOSCO
Think about it though, when people turn 65, is it a difficult choice to give up their employer insurance to take Medicare or not? Well this program covers 100% instead of just 80% in Medicare and covers dental, vision, prescription and long term care that Medicare doesn’t currently cover so it will even be better….. Point is, no one misses their insurance by going to Medicare they certainly won’t miss it going to Calcare
Your first $49k will not get taxed… Plus it encourages small businesses to come to California
JB86
Would you support it if it didn’t cover undocumented?
If it doesn’t cover undocumented then will you support it?
I think the root cause of this problem is the cost of healthcare. Whether individuals and businesses, the state, or the feds sign the checks, the burden still falls on taxpayers at the end of the day and the exponentially increasing costs are unsustainable. Before we focus on who is paying for healthcare, let’s start with asking why healthcare is so expensive. Why do our prescription drugs cost orders of magnitude more than the same drugs cost in other countries? Why does it cost more to get a CT scan in the us than it costs to get a round trip plane ticket to Europe or Japan in addition to the cost of getting the same scan there and repeating that process a few times over? Why can’t a hospital quote you to cost of the services you need ahead of time? And perhaps most importantly, why do care providers charge different people different prices for the same thing? That is an illegal anticompetitive business practice punishable by substantial fines and imprisonment yet mysteriously not enforced for the healthcare industry. If everyone could pay the same preferred rates as the insurance companies, would there even be a need for insurance? If we could import prescription drugs from overseas for a fraction of what we pay now, would we even need prescription drug coverage? In order to truly solve this problem we need to restore free market pricing and fair business practices to healthcare. Whether the state pays for it or not, disaster is inevitable unless we address the cost of healthcare.
4:42 – This would streamline it to “no bill”, so you get your wish.
8:25 – Keep it a worse place to live to make it a worse place to live? That makes sense.
sacjon; I don’t doubt that illegals work hard, but that is not at issue. The issue here is who exactly pays for this universal health coverage? Ultimately, economics is a zero-sum game; in this scheme, those who ‘have’ will pay for themselves plus for those who cannot pay. Ergo, net costs go up for the more financially-able. Then, it is just a matter of what you want based on social philosophy. And that is how this will be decided.
To OP Abad: Like many posters I am initially skeptical but willing and anxious to have unambiguous facts and information by which to judge the plan on merit. We’ll see if we get it.
At any rate I note one glaring inaccuracy in your commentary where you state, “…Medicare is still being funded by the same 1.45% payroll taxes that it was funded with when it started sixty years ago…”
In fact, beginning in 1966 the payroll tax started at .35% and increased over many years to the present rate of 1.45% (an increase of just over 400%.) Source: Social Security web site. https://www.ssa.gov/oact/progdata/taxRates.html
So, while you write an interesting endorsement of Calcare, I must wonder if other statistics you quote are accurate.
Thus, I must withhold judgment on the program until further notice.
P.S. – And, of course, there is currently no upper limit to the income level subject to the 1.45% payroll tax.
Doesn’t this proposed law have to be approved by the voters? It will raise taxes substantially on the middle class. I noticed this article did not put the percentage of increase on those making over 149K. Why? What will the increase in personal income tax be for that group? I have an HSA which works well for my family. I don’t want to lose it. I have no problem with the government shifting some of the multitude of taxes I already pay to care for those who need it or paying a little more. Will I revive a tax credit at the end of the year for not using universal health care? Until our government can run existing programs efficiently( like locating the missing 80million in fire fees some property owners paid) I won’t support universal health care.
“It will expand Medicare-like universal healthcare for all in California. It will cover 100% of medical expenses including dental, vision, prescription and long-term care “
Many people with Medicare have to buy supplemental insurance to cover basic needs. As I assume is what will happen here if you want to choose your doctor. And waiting for months for non life saving treatments or procedures isn’t good for anyone. Try being in agonizing pain from a herniated disk or torn rotator cuff. No one should have to wait 9 months to have those things repaired by a doctor they didn’t choose. There are too many unanswered questions to be pushing this through so quickly.
If u like the service at the DMV or post office, you’ll love this!!
Maybe the government is the robber baron.
CURMUDGEON
Medicare tax applies to all earned income in 1960… Why do you think they made that change? Health insurance costs on the other hand increases three times faster at 400% every 20 years… White cutting services and raising copays and out of pocket costs.
Think about it..,..Medicare is a lot cheaper than private insurance, it’s taken more widely accepted ..,.because with health insurance, you have to make sure to go with certain in network providers or you’d pay outrageous costs…. Why else would people prefer keeping their insurance over Medicare? Especially with Calcare covering 100% of the cost and encompassing even dental, vision, prescription and long term… Seriously, under what reason would anyone prefer keeping their health insurance?
Hmmm. So, you’d rather stay with bad care that’s expensive?
It would be wonderful to join the civilized world, but too many in our populace don’t understand civilization.
3 years to widen 5 miles of the 101.
$350,000 per hotel room to house the homeless in Goleta. (Super 8 hotel)
$77 billion dollar bullet train to nowhere
$5 gallon gas
$300 gas bill to heat house
Our government is ineffective. Anyone who thinks otherwise is ignorant.
We deserve better. Until the government gets their act together I would not support any ideas out of Sacramento.
5:25 PM, I’d like to see a robust study of the issue you bring up. I really don’t know the truth on that. But I was told to never get an HMO because I’d have no choice of which doctors I see. But I have an HMO with Sansum and there are plenty of stellar doctors there. If most of the population is covered by CalCare, won’t most of the doctors take those patients? There are lots of great doctors, and they can’t all hold out for private-pay rich people.
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So then why is the US ranked 30th in the world behind all those countries with universal healthcare for all?
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Think about it though… When people transition to Medicare when they turn 65, do you really think any of them complain about giving up their expensive health insurance for Medicare that covers more and cost much less? Now Calcare covers even more than Medicare… Think about it…
AHCHOOO
Difference is that calcare pays for 100% instead of just 80% that Medicare covers and it includes dental, vision, prescription, and long term care…. Much like what so many other industrialized countries currently cover in their universal healthcare for all …
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1400
JB86 – I didn’t say “ALL” where eligible. The point, that you CLEARLY missed, is that this is not about Medi-Cal, this is something different. Therefore, the writer didn’t mention it. Your hate has blinded you to the actual facts of this situation and you spiral off screaming about “illegal immigrants.” THAT was my point.
And yes, I’m a property owner (commercial and residential) and pay plenty of taxes. Just because I don’t like it when people rant off topic out of anger towards hard working undocumented immigrants and then say things like “it is an issue of equity and fairness” doesn’t mean I’m not a taxpayer. It just means I have the capacity for logic and empathy.
Your comments are posted, scroll up.
UCSB, our healthcare has a tremendous amount of government control. Unfortunately, when the government regulates an industry there is a revolving door between the industry and the government. For example, the same people alternate between serving on Pfizer’s board of directors and the FDA. How does making favorable regulations and decisions while working with the government influence compensation when transitioning back to industry? It seems to help a lot! As a result, regulations do little to protect consumers and instead shield the insurance, pharmaceutical, and healthcare industries from liability and facilitate exponential growth in costs. Why is it illegal to import prescription drugs from overseas? Because the government/industry regulatory complex made it that way in order to charge more for prescription drugs. When Medicare was created in the 60s, healthcare spending accounted for about 3% of our GDP. Today that has ballooned to 20%. Given the state of our healthcare system, transitioning to single payer might actually be an improvement, especially if doing so could eliminate/bankrupt the health insurance industry middlemen. However, it is not accurate to characterize our existing system as a “free market.” Our healthcare system is the poster child example of crony capitalism, regulatory capture, anti-competitive business practices, and corruption. A true free market healthcare system would provide the best care in the world at the best possible price. If we implemented such a system, healthcare would be affordable for everyone, health insurance would be a low cost way to cover an unforeseen catastrophic event, and medical spending would drop back to 3-4% of our GDP where it belongs.
David, what the shoot are you trying to say? The 101 project is being built by private contractors in a way to mitigate the impact on 101 users. The $5 gas is the result of private corporate policy and world wide exploitation of the energy market by cartels. $300 to heat your house is probably a fair price in winter but the cost would be much greater if public utilities were not regulated by the PUC. (And if the PUC actually did the job right we would be better off.) If private businesses provided these necessities we would see something more akin to the price of cable TV by the way. Unbridled, unregulated, unreviewed free market capitalism is a disaster wherever it gets control. I (a voter) am the government and I want my government to act in my interests to protect my environment, my income, my savings, my future. I certainly would not trust that to the robber barons.
Those over 65 will have to give up their Medicare to fund this, and then have to wait in line behind illegals to get care. Those who have good commercial insurance will have to give that up too. California government cannot do anything right and I don’t trust them to create a healthcare system.
Funding will require a waiver from the Federal government to send Medicare and MediCal revenues to the state, which is unlikely to happen.
JSAVELL – ” have to wait in line behind illegals to get care” – how do you figure? Does this legislation give preference to undocumented immigrants to be seen before citizens? Lots of doom and gloom and short on facts it seems.
Studies of health plans such as Calcare have been done in numerous states and by the Federal Budget Office. All show immense savings and improved quality possible. They stabilize costs over time and, when well designed the way Calcare is, can cover all needed care for 100% of the population without co-pays or deductibles, while spending less from day one. Why? Mainly because one risk pool reduces administrative costs for all business, care providers, the government, and others because only one comprehensive health plan is needed and and a predictable, negotiated fee schedule is there for all. An analysis of how single payer works is at: https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/01/416416/single-payer-systems-likely-save-money-us-analysis-finds . Wait times are caused by too many patients seeking too few providers. More folks in health care are needed. All of us would save millions of dollars on health costs just for government workers if we all were in a single risk pool. That would be social justice too. Win-win-win for all except health insurance sales folks. The Bill provides funding for retraining the displaced into other jobs, likely more useful to society and rewarding for the worker. The Covid-19 pandemic should have taught everyone that if anyone who can not or will not access recommended health care, then that person can give you or your children a deadly disease and destabilize the health care delivery system for all regardless of private or public health insurance. Health care, as Medicare has demonstrated, is better financed through taxes. Licensed and accredited health providers remain in the private sector. Under Calcare, you may choose anyone you want who is participating. In Medicare, at least 90% of providers participate. Payment is guaranteed without a fuss. Also, you, as a patient and any doctor who wants too, may opt out and self pay and self charge. But you may not opt out of the tax system that is designed to be fair to all. That is freedom and justice for all.
DMV isn’t healthcare…. More like if you can’t wait to get on Medicare then you’d like this as it expands into paying 100% instead of just 80%…. Plus it adds dental, vision, prescription, and long term care..
This expands Medicare into paying 100% instead of just 80%…. Plus it adds dental, vision, prescription, and long term care..
As a builder, I carried my own $3million PPO w/ $5k deductible and no co-pay and did so for 35yrs. The cost for the two of us, healthy beings, was $20k per year! (in 2015) That expense precluded much in the way of vacations as we had to kick out $5k every 3 months or be cancelled and be forced to reapply for a lesser, more expensive plan.
Uruguay has government paid health care, the quality is good, and for another $2k/yr we get private hospitalization for both of us. Here the hospitals will treat you for anything and everything, and worry about payment later just as it once was in the US. Single payer provides the best care to cost ratio for the population and NO profit for the abusive, greedy insurance industry 🙂
If you scroll down to page 21, you will see that Doctors are more likely to not take Medi-Cal patients.
https://www.chcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/PhysiciansAlmanac2021.pdf
Low reimbursements, and bureaucracy problems. Bad combination
State workers and their bosses are no more altruistic than for profit corporation workers. They know how to feather their nests too.
Look at the LA DWP people who plead guilty recently
The state becomes the middle man and probably winds up hiring most of the people currently working in the insurance hives. The CEO’s will sign up as very highly paid consultants.
The “middlemen” people will threaten to go on strike every 7 years… they won’t actually ever have to strike because no one is going to say no to their demands.
They’ll all retire after 30 years with full state pensions and benefits at the age of 55. At that time, life expectancy should be over 100 unless they completely *bleep* up the system
If we are all in one risk pool with an improved health plan similar to but better than traditional Medicare, all licensed and accredited health care providers will be paid at a rate that is at least the Medicare rate, not the traditionally way-too-low Medi-Caid (MediCal in CA) rate. Please read the studies and think before making up stuff out of whole cloth. Your own experiences such as that of CHANNELFOG are very valuable to telling the story.