A Berkeley-based group that analyzes bills at the request of the California state legislature has made public a 35-page report on AB 1400, the Guaranteed Health Care for All Act (CalCare). The California Health Benefits Review Program (CHBRP) released on April 22, 2021, an “Abbreviated Analysis” of the bill, requested in March by the Assembly Health Committee. Otherwise referred to as a “limited” analysis, the report draws conclusions from existing studies of single payer proposals and also offers new factors for legislators to consider. The report does not register a clear judgment of the bill.
An excerpt from the introduction to the CHBRP analysis reads: “In the literature, there is a general consensus that single-payer health care would increase efficiency, initially decrease net costs, and result in long-term net savings over time. The uncertainty around immediate benefits, however, creates significant challenges for state implementation, in particular.” Click here to read the analysis.
Healthy California Now, a statewide coalition of groups that support single payer, issued a response to the analysis that takes issue with some calculations and recommendations and agrees with some of the conclusions.