Latest CA Single Payer Legislation does not move forward - what does it all mean?

Breaking News!!! AB 1400 was not heard on the Assembly Floor and January 31 was the deadline, it is officially no longer a threat to the health of Californians! I am so tired of the extremes of both sides and the misrepresentation of what me, and the people I work with are about. We spend all day, every day, helping people find the most affordable health insurance options for them, and educating people about how to appropriately use our system and cost saving strategies.

The proponents of single payer claim that the bill was killed by all of the money in the health insurance industry - quite the opposite. There was a REAL chance of the legislature passing an experiment that has an incredible price tag for ALL California residents - to the tune of at least $168 BILLION in new taxes per year. There was a grass roots effort by working Californians that clearly stated "This is not what I want” - and it wasn't just the healthcare industry. Cal Chamber claimed it (and ACA 11) to be the "first of 2022 Job Killer Bills". I am relieved to say our elected officials did the right thing - they did not entertain an untested, incomplete idea with no funding mechanism attached. And believe me, they were receiving pressure from all sides, read this article from Politico, or this one from Cal Matters to understand a little more about exactly how political healthcare has become.

I take a lot of pride in the work I do helping clients navigate their options so that they can have coverage that suits their needs, and each and every one has different needs. THAT is one of the reasons the idea of a cookie cutter, 100% government run, single payer type system concerns me. A system like that would be more like Medi-Cal so using the term "Medicare for All" is inaccurate and a terrible way of fooling people into believing single payer would be great.

Another concern that AB 1400 could not address is our severe shortage of providers available right now. That is something we need to address before we can create a system that will cause us to lose even more healthcare providers.

I do understand that there is so much noise about the money made in healthcare. Transparency is what will help us identify bad actors. There are many transparency initiatives that are starting to help uncover the inequities, and more importantly starting to engage the consumers of healthcare. We have a long way to go to fix the weak spots in our healthcare system and some of that onus is on US - the consumers of the healthcare. We need to demand transparency in prices, and understand the best paths of accessing care to avoid paying unnecessary expenses. For example, don't go to the emergency room with a runny nose!

Our country needs its people to get better at taking care of ourselves (including me - no finger pointing, just stating facts). We need to have a system that rewards good behavior, rather than trying to put Band-Aids on the deteriorating health of our population.

I would support a system if it proved to be a better solution for all, I support equity in access to care, transparency, and I support taking more responsibility for our health.

In California, we have the most comprehensive access to healthcare in the country.   Covered CA enrollment numbers show we have decreased the uninsured numbers significantly and the ARPA increased subsidies have helped so many more middle-class families.

I think what is important in the discussion of what type of system would work in the US is freedom of choice and immediate access. There is no argument that the US is different than every other country in the world, and California is different than every other state in the US. All the arguments I hear in support of true single payer are from people that have never experienced the rationing of care in those systems, especially for seniors.

Understanding the difference in terms inaccurately used interchangeably is key. I have included a glossary of a few of the most popular system reform terms at the end of this article. I just wanted to put something out there to counter the narrative about our healthcare industry. I belong to CAHIP, formerly known as CAHU and I believe in our vision, "Every Californian has access to solutions for health, financial and retirement needs, through services provided by insurance professionals." If you are in the healthcare industry, I encourage you to join CAHIP - it is a great way to keep your voice heard. I welcome your thoughts and ideas about ways to improve our healthcare system, and I encourage you to stay tuned to the changes in healthcare and introduced legislation. Be sure you read the details before you listen to the "fodder", you know how the old saying goes...

MEDICARE FOR ALL: A type of universal health care plan where basic coverage is provided through an expansion of the federal Medicare program, but this type of plan would still allow for the purchase of private insurance, as it does currently, and is administered by an insurance company, not by the state. This is not what the Healthy California Act proposes. Healthy California Act proposes a single payer plan. PUBLIC OPTION: The public health insurance option, also known as the public insurance option or the public option, is a proposal to create a government-run health insurance agency that would compete with other private health insurance companies. The public option is not the same as publicly funded health care, but was proposed as an alternative health insurance plan offered by the government.

SINGLE PAYER: Single-payer is a system in which all residents pay the state – via taxes in amounts determined by the state – to cover all healthcare costs for all residents regardless of income, occupation, or health status. This would end all individual’s option to buy or not buy health coverage from private insurers based on their specific needs and ability to pay. Both the Healthy California Act and the New York Health Act are true single-payer plans, which would eliminate all private and public insurance programs, including Medicare, Medi-Cal, Veteran’s health care, among others. The actual funding of a "single-payer" system comes from all or a portion of the covered population via new taxes.

UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE: Universal access to healthcare is a broad term for a program that makes some level of basic coverage available to all (likely through a government program), but also allows for private insurance as choice to the consumer. Universal access to health care which includes a private insurance option would allow consumers and employers to continue their current types of health plans, assuming those plans offer at least the basic coverage required.

UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE: "Universal health care" refers to providing every citizen with health care coverage. Although universal health care means a national public insurance program, there are varieties of ways of achieving universal health care, some of which are predominantly public, and others of which use a mixture of public and private elements. Some examples include Canada, United Kingdom, Germany and Japan.