By Marie Waldron
Healthcare is costly, never free. The projected cost of a new government-run healthcare plan proposed in Sacramento is $400 billion.
That is twice the state’s budget! Costing around $22,000 for every employed person in California — that’s a massive new tax to pay for “free” healthcare for all!
Senate Bill 562, by Sen. Ricardo Lara, a Democrat from Bell Gardens, sets up a single-payer plan for everyone living in California, including undocumented immigrants. It bans private health plans and creates a two-tier system: private, fee-for-service care for the wealthy and politically connected, and a taxpayer-funded government plan for everyone else.
Interestingly, the bill fails to identify a funding source but hints at a massive payroll tax deduction on working people. Since not everyone works, the cost per working person will actually be more. Since it applies to illegal immigrants, our state would become a worldwide magnet for “free” health care!
Replacing health insurance and premiums, you pay higher taxes — upwards of a 15 percent payroll tax on workers! A nine-member panel would control all healthcare decisions in the state — creating a new government bureaucracy.
Despite all this, Senate Bill 562 passed the Senate floor last week and is headed to the Assembly, where I will see it in Assembly Health Committee.
Competition is the best way to keep costs low — not one giant government program. Join me in fighting Senate Bill 562!
Assemblymember Marie Waldron represents the 75th Assembly District, which stretches from Escondido north to Temecula.