What Is Single Payer?

Single payer financed health care is a cost-effective method for financing and administering a universal health system.

With a single payer system California establishes a health insurance plan that covers all residents. The plan replaces all other health insurance plans, public and private.

The plan is administered by a single State Health Agency with local branches.

The plan is financed by state health taxes and federal money that now goes to health care, such as Medicare, MediCal and Champus.

All money earmarked for health care goes into a single state health trust fund.

Consolidation of administration and finance saves billions of dollars. Cost of administration drops from 25%-35% of health spending to 2-3%.
The state becomes the single purchaser of pharmaceuticals and durable medical equipment. It uses bulk purchasing power to lower costs up to 50% by purchasing from the Federal Supply Schedule. This saves billions. The state coordinates capital expenditures. This saves billions.

Everyone has doctor and gets preventive care. This saves billions. Saved dollars are shifted into health care.

The public planning process determines how we spend our health care dollars and controls growth in spending through global health budgets.

Quality of care is improved through equitable distribution of resources, choice of physician, primary and preventive care,risk adjusted budgets that pay the true costs of care, statewide data collection and analysis, public access to non-confidential data, linkage of health research and innovation to health care needs, safe staffing ratios, return of medical decision making to medical providers and patients, use of evidence-based medical practices and monitoring of outcomes, funded consumer advocates and monitoring of consumer and provider satisfaction.

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The health care tax replaces all health insurance premiums, all deductibles and most other out of pocket health expenses, including most co-pays.

When you pay the health tax, the benefits you get are better than any existing health insurance plan and there are no exclusions for "preexisting conditions" or any other health problems. Dental care, mental health parity, long term care, alternative and complementary care, durable medical equipment and full prescription drug coverage are included without co-pays.

The health care tax is less than current health insurance premiums for most individuals and for all employers who currently provide health coverage.

95%-98% of the health care tax goes directly to health care services, whereas only 65%-75% of health insurance premiums go to health care services.

The health tax is equitably structured so what each person pays is affordable. Health insurance premiums bear no relationship to one's ability to pay.

The health tax is less than insurance premiums employers now pay so there is a pool of dollars that unions can negotiate back into wages and other benefits.

The health tax involves no new spending. Instead, it involves a shift of funds from the private sector (insurance premiums) to the public sector (health tax).

The health tax is socially responsible: Tax proceeds are used to assure that all Californians receive an essential social service. Health insurance premiums are socially irresponsible: Proceeds are used to assure profitability to one company and an essential service is provided only to those who can afford it.

Californians and their legislators are smart enough to understand that a not-for-profit health care system with a universal risk pool financed by taxes is a more cost effective, stable system than one made up of fragmented risk pools each burdened with an expensive bureaucracy and profit-sharing requirements.

Californians and their legislators are smart enough to understand that the health tax is a good deal, a better deal than insurance premiums. The health tax is like the Medicare tax only better: It provides lifelong health care security.