California Dems seek single payer health insurance

Legislative Budget Analysis:

For example, there would likely be significant up-front implementation costs, labor market disruptions, as well as reduced tax revenue from insurance companies. It is also possible that the provisions in this bill would make the state ineligible for federal Medicaid  and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) federal matching funds if the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) do not approve waivers of federal Medicaid law. Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program, and the Healthy Families Program, California's  CHIP, receive federal funds which match state General Funds to provide health care benefits to low-income individuals.

Keep in mind that California is already amidst a chronic and prolonged budget crisis brought on by runaway spending and exorbitant taxing.   Perennially listed among the worst states in our Union to do business, California features 10%+ income taxes and the highest regulatory burden around.  So imposing are the costs to business in California, despite its ports and natural resources, Nevada and its desert is #1 in the Country in new business development.

Rather than make California job friendly again - and thereby increase government revenues through sales taxes and new income taxes from new jobs - California Democrats offer nothing but tax hikes and even more regulation.  And now this.

The estimated cost of the Democrats California Health Care bill is over $210 billion dollars a year!  Nearly 250% more than the existing state revenues.  But wait - there is more - or less depending on how you think about it.  The Democrats don't even have a funding mechanism in place to pay for their bill.  Instead, they want to create a committee (itself costing $1 to $2 million) to come up with a funding mechanism.  Of course, that means a government committee to devise a tax scheme to pay for government bureaucracy.

The bill is almost identical to former Sen. Sheila Kuehl's 2008 single-payer bill that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed.

Voting in favor of moving the bill forward this morning were Democratic sens. Christine Kehoe of San Diego, Ellen Corbett of San Leandro, Leno, Carol Liu of Pasadena, Curren Price of Los Angeles and Leland Yee of San Francisco.

In opposition were GOP sens. Dave Cox of Fair Oaks, Jeff Denham of Merced and Mimi Walters of Tustin.

"Any elected official that thinks it's a good idea to strap the state with tens of billions of dollars from a government-run health care system is clearly not in touch with what voters need and deserve," said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Rachel Arrezola. "The governor continues to oppose any single-payer government-run health care system."