California Reintroduces AB 1400 for Health Care for All
For five years, California lawmakers have debated the idea of creating a single-payer Guaranteed Health Care for All Act, which would provide all residents with health coverage under the same health plan — that is, without the ever-rising insurance premiums, deductibles, co-pays and other out-of-pocket costs.
The single-payer plan was estimated to cost $400 billion with no clear funding source. It never passed.
A new proposal, known as Assembly Bill 1400, sponsored by the California Nurses Association, seeks to create a tax to fund the single-payer option that would apply to companies with more than $2 million or businesses with 50 or more employees.
“AB 1400 will permanently end the crisis for the millions of Californians who make the difficult decision to avoid medical care because of the high cost, at great risk to their health,” said Carmen Comsti, lead regulatory policy specialist for the CNA, in a written statement.
In 2020, one in seven Californians skipped, delayed or cut back on care, 60% of them due to cost, according to research from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
Under what is being called CalCare, Californians would receive all the care needed, regardless of employment, immigration or marital status. So far, 25 cities in California have endorsed AB 1400.
The proposal was heard this week by the Assembly Rules Committee. To move, the bill must first pass a health committee by Jan. 14 and the full assembly by Jan 31.
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