Free Republic

The prospects of a government-run health care system in California dimmed Friday when the leader of the state Assembly announced he doesn't plan to take up the single-payer bill this year. Speaker Anthony Rendon called the bill "woefully incomplete." "Even senators who voted for SB 562 noted there are potentially fatal flaws in the bill," the Los Angeles-area Democrat said in a statement. The bill, which has passed the Senate, lays out a plan for a government-run health system in California, but it doesn't include a way to pay for it. Rendon said the bill also doesn't adequately address delivery...

The price tag is in: It would cost $400 billion to remake California’s health insurance marketplace and create a publicly funded universal heath care system, according to a state financial analysis released Monday. California would have to find an additional $200 billion per year, including in new tax revenues, to create a so-called “single-payer” system. The estimate assumes the state would retain the existing $200 billion in local, state and federal funding it currently receives to offset the total $400 billion price tag. Employers currently spend between $100 billion to $150 billion per year, which could be available to help...

If you like your current health care plan, Senate Bill 562 is a bad deal. If you don’t like your current health care plan, SB562 is a worse deal. This legislation, while well intentioned, would force millions of Californians out of their current health care plans into a government-run system that will eventually result in government bureaucrats making health care decisions currently made by doctors, nurses and other medical professionals. {snip} If this legislation were passed and signed into law, Californians would be on the hook to pay for a $200 billion program. Our entire General Fund today rests at...