California Governor Gavin Newsom made a big pledge while campaigning for his current job in 2018. Newsom promised to establish a government-run, single-payer healthcare system. When Newsom faced a recall election last year, healthcare unions were a critical ingredient to his landslide victory. Now, those unions want Newsom to finish what he started.
Turns out, unions might not need Newsom to get the ball rolling. 💡 That’s because lawmakers in California have revived a plan to launch a free healthcare program for all Californians. The so-called “CalCare” plan made its rounds in 2017 (before Newsom’s election) and boasted an estimated $400 billion price tag. This time around, the single-payer proposal is carrying more weight — it’s considered a state constitutional amendment called ACA 11.
Single-payer systems have been controversial in the U.S. for decades. In 1994, California proposed an initiative similar to ACA 11, which was overwhelmingly rejected by voters. In recent years, single-payer has experienced a surge in popularity and gained a small edge in popular polls of U.S. adults. Their rising popularity has its roots in strong progressive movements, which suggest that millions of Americans do not have health insurance.
Even those who do have insurance might face enormous financial hardship. Medical bills are reported to be the number one cause of U.S. bankruptcies, according to a study published in The American Journal of Medicine. 🚨 That’s why such a program could go miles to helping underrepresented groups, the unemployed, entrepreneurs, and retirees.
However, even though there would “be no copays or deductibles,” the $400 billion price tag would be billed to Californians in the form of higher taxes.
According to the Tax Foundation, the tax hike required to fund the amendment is aggressive. The foundation claims that household taxes would rise by $12,250 per household if the amendment was passed. That would roughly double “the state’s already high tax collections.” The proposed payroll tax bracket necessary to establish ACA 11 would have the greatest impact on one group in particular: low-income Californians, who could see their tax bills more than double.
However, it should be noted that California’s attempts could test the waters for a nationwide single-payer initiative. If ACA 11 was successfully passed and implemented, it could potentially kill private insurers and their presence in America’s biggest market. ACA 11 would also likely lead other progressive states down the same path, and maybe even to Washington one day. 🦅
However, from the looks of ACA 11’s current tax impact, Democratic lawmakers are sabotaging their own efforts. The proposal’s failure could crush progressives’ best attempts to bring change for years to come.