Universal Healthcare Bill in California Revived | Healthcare Innovation

According to a Jan. 6 article from Forbes by Mason Bissada, California Assembly Member Ash Kalra (D) introduced a bill that would fund single-payer healthcare in the state through new income, payroll, and business taxes.

Bissada writes that “The concept, dubbed ‘CalCare,’ was initially proposed by Kalra last February in California Assembly Bill 1400, but it failed to advance out of committee amid criticism that there was no detailed plan to fund the program. ACA 11 fills in those details, proposing to raise funding from a gross receipts tax on companies earning more than $2 million, a payroll tax for businesses with 50 or more employees and a personal income tax for those making more than $149,509.”

Bissada adds that CalCare aims to provide single-payer coverage for all residents of California and would allow them to access physicians regardless of network. CalCare also intends to lower prescription drug prices.

“The bill will need a two-thirds vote from both houses of the legislature, as well as approval by California voters,” Bissada continues. “A hearing for AB 1400 will be held in the Assembly health committee on January 11, with influential California lawmakers like the chair of the committee Jim Wood announcing Thursday he will be voting to move the bill forward along with at least 20 other Assembly Democrats.”

A Jan. 6 article from U.S. News World & Report says that “The bill that would create the universal health care system faces a tight deadline. It must pass the state Assembly by Jan. 31 to have a chance at passing this year. The deadline for the other bill—the one that would pay for everything—is months away.”

Moreover, “The plan already faces fierce opposition from some of the biggest lobbying groups in the state. The California Chamber of Commerce, the California Hospital Association, the California Medical Association and the California Taxpayers Association all condemned the plan on Thursday and urged lawmakers to reject it.”

The article adds that Jim Wood, the Democratic chair of the Assembly Health Committee, said he still has concerns about the plan.

“He said it won’t solve all of the state’s problems,” the article continues. “But in announcing he would vote for the bill, he said he echoed the growing frustration of his constituents he said are angry at insurance companies that ‘tell people what they can and cannot have’ and ‘physicians (that) do not want their decisions or fees questioned by anyone.’”