A single-payer healthcare system is something that has been brought up time and time again over the past few decades. However, it’s generally been dismissed in favor of other forms of healthcare – until recently, that is. People are taking the idea of single-payer more seriously than ever before, especially with all of the controversy surrounding the current system. In fact, it was proposed in California earlier this year under the Healthy California Act. However, a report was recently released that revealed that California’s single-payer system would cost $400 billion.
The Cost of California’s Single-Payer Healthcare
The report was released by the state Senate Appropriations Committee. About half of that $400 billion would be offset by existing federal, state, and local funds. However, the other half would have to be accounted for with additional tax revenue from California residents. The report assumed that this tax revenue would be raised through a new payroll tax. This added tax rate could be upwards of 15 percent of earned income.
While this may seem like a substantial cost to Californians, the report did note that these new payroll taxes would be largely offset by the amount of money saved on healthcare coverage by both employees and employers.
Proponents for a California single-payer healthcare system argue that the system would not only make healthcare more affordable for California residents, but also more efficient since it would eliminate the need for as much paperwork as the current healthcare insurance system typically requires. Proponents also bring up Medicare, which is a federally funded healthcare program for seniors, as a model of how a single-payer healthcare system could work.
However, there are still opponents of single-payer healthcare, who argue that it would raise taxes too much and that it would give the government too much power.
A single-payer healthcare system could very well work in California, although there are still some detractors. To keep up with all the latest news within the healthcare industry, be sure to visit us at The Benefits Store today.