SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Democrats must decide on Monday whether to advance a bill that would make the government pay for everybody’s healthcare in the nation’s most populous state; a key test of whether one of their most long-sought policy goals can overcome fierce opposition from business groups and the insurance industry, according to AP.
A bill in the state Legislature would create the nation’s only statewide universal health care system. It’s still a long way from becoming law, but Monday is the last chance for lawmakers in the Assembly to keep the bill alive this year.
The bill would create a universal healthcare system and set its rules — but it would not pay for it. There’s another bill that would do that. It has a different deadline and does not have to pass on Monday.
Still, Monday’s debate will likely be dominated by concerns about cost. The latest estimate says it would cost taxpayers at least $356.5 billion per year to pay for the healthcare of nearly 40 million residents. California’s total operating budget — which pays for public schools, courts, roads and bridges and other important services — is roughly $262 billion this year.
Earlier this month, Democrats filed a proposed amendment to the state Constitution that would impose hefty new taxes on businesses and individuals to pay for the system. The taxes would generate roughly $163 billion per year, and the amendment would give lawmakers the power to raise those taxes to keep up with costs.
Supporters hope both proposals — the bill to create the system and the bill to pay for it — will move forward together this year. But Monday’s deadline is only on the bill that would create the system.
Still, that hasn’t stopped opponents from connecting the two issues.
“A vote for this bill is naturally a vote for the taxes that come along with it,” said Preston Young, a policy advocate with the California Chamber of Commerce who is leading a coalition of 130 companies against the bill.
“Healthcare costs continue to increase, so the tax obligations correlated with it will go up as well.”
Supporters say Californians and their employers are already paying exorbitant amounts for healthcare through high deductibles, co-pays and monthly insurance premiums.
This bill, if it becomes law, would eliminate all of those and replace them with taxes.
