Funding the health care system
How would the publicly financed health care
system be funded?
SB 840 provides for the single payer universal
health care system to be funded by a combination of federal, state
and local funds currently spent on health care programs and by revenues
collected for the Universal Healthcare Fund. The new state revenues
replace what businesses and individuals now pay to HMOs, insurance
companies and other providers. These funds will provide for comprehensive
health coverage based on a single standard of care for all residents.
This is more coverage than most private insurance and government programs
now provide.
SB 840 is the policy bill that provides for
the publicly financed universal health care system. However, it does
not specifically identify all the funding sources for the system.
Instead, it establishes a California Health
Insurance Premium Commission to develop an equitable and affordable
premium structure for all income earners and employers.
The
Commission also must satisfy criteria that maintain the current system’s
ratio for aggregate health care contributions from employers, individuals,
state and local governments and other sources.
