Letter from Assemblyman Ting regarding single payer for California

Dear Californian:

Thank you for your recent correspondence in support of Senate Bill (SB) 562. I value your opinion and appreciate you taking the time to share it with me.

I wholeheartedly support single-payer health care; from a public health perspective, it is without question the best solution for universal coverage. I have previously requested to be added as a co-author to SB 562.

As you know, SB 562 would enact a universal single-payer health care coverage plan for all California residents, without premiums, deductibles or co-payments of any kind. As passed by the Senate, the bill is not clear about how the single-payer program would be financed, how care would be delivered, and how health care costs would be controlled. It also is not clear if the Trump Administration will issue necessary waivers under the Affordable Care Act, or whether a repeal of the ACA would create legal or financial obstacles for California to set up its own single-payer system.

Given these unanswered questions, the Speaker of the Assembly ordered SB 562 held in the Assembly Rules Committee and shelved for consideration this year. I expect the work on single-payer healthcare to continue and seriously debated during next year. As part of those discussions, the Legislature and the Governor will need to develop a long-term funding plan, including the potential for California voters to pass new taxes to finance the program. According to a study conducted by the UCLA Center for Health Policy, a single-payer system would cost $367 billion a year. The Senate Appropriations Committee estimated total annual costs of $400 billion, including $200 billion in additional tax revenues. For context, California’s state budget for fiscal year 2017-2018 amounts to $183 billion.

Please continue sharing your views with me as it helps me to better serve you in Sacramento.

Sincerely,

PHIL TING
Assemblymember, 19 ^th District