Killing Off the Private Option is the Fatal Flaw for SB 562

I understand that our progressive friends want single payer health care where government manages it all. However single payer is not all that glamorous when you
read the ugly stories in Canada and the United Kingdom about their system. It was
predicted that the Affordable Care Act was basically training wheels for Single

Payer
because right now the system is ready to derail big time in the next few years.

Certain
states are going to have NO insurance company as part of their health care exchanges
because insurance companies are unwilling to partake in the government system no
matter if it is federal or state managed.

Enter SB 562, California s effort in having a single payer health care system. Co-written
by Senators Lara and Atkins it is called the Healthy California Act , where the authors
strive to improve access to health care. I agree that something should be done when
insurance premiums are approaching almost 10 thousand dollars for a family. However,
the bad point of the bill is no private option.

The health plans that people rely on will be shuddered thanks to this legislation. Many
people in California love Kaiser Pernamente due to it being the Mercedes Benz of health
care plans. With this new law, we will be forced into the government system or if you
are wealthy you would have to go out of state to pay cash for the health care you need.
The big fear of SB 562 is the reimbursement rates, I would expect to see a health care
provider shortage when doctors decide to either retire or move out of California. Medi-
Cal currently has a provider shortage due to reimbursement rates. The Democratic Party
would likely need to have programs where if one gets educated at the UC medical

school
they would be required to take care of patients in the state program for a decade in
exchange for a modest salary.

I think the authors of SB 562 need to go back to the drawing board and come up with an
idea like Medicare Part C and D and the Australian health care system. Government
cannot do it all despite many believing it can. Public option can coexist with a Private
option.

Fiscally, even if we are paying a 9% tax to help fund the program, will it be sustainable?
States such as Vermont crashed and burn when they tried single payer. The California
Public Employee Retirement System also has funding shortfalls as well. I am skeptical of
California politicians managing money if I trusted Bernie Madoff to manage my portfolio.

Also, the new California tax is regressive when it comes to low income workers.

One
would be paying the unsubsidized price before ACA subsidies which would take away
money that one may need for their car payment or groceries. Democrats are criticizing
Trump for doing similar things.

Due to the Super Majority this bill is likely to pass no matter if you like it or not to infer
from a quote from Gavin Newsom when he was speaking how equal marriage rights was
inevitable. However, this bill needs to go back to the drawing board. We need to come
up with solutions to improve the supply of medical providers, how would the authors
deal with the issue of big health care networks controlled by the private sector deciding
to shut down where private hospitals such as Kaiser Pernamente will fold in California,
how would the authors make the payroll tax equitable to low income workers.

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