CalChamber Announces 122-Member Coalition Opposed to Single Payer Health Care Proposals

A large and diverse coalition of California-based organizations is registering formal opposition to CalChamber-identified Job Killer bills AB 1400 (Kalra, Lee and Santiago) and ACA 11 (Kalra and Lee). The bills would establish and raise taxes necessary to fund a single payer health care system called CalCare in California.

According to a letter sent by the coalition to the Assembly Appropriations Committee today, “AB 1400 and ACA 11 would create a new and exorbitantly expensive government bureaucracy…ultimately resulting in significant job loss to California.”

In their letter, the coalition points out that similar past proposals have been estimated to cost more than $400 billion annually, which is a financial commitment four times that of Medi-Cal. “Successfully standing up a new function that would be twice the size of the existing state budget is highly doubtful, given the state’s recent experience with benefit delays and massive fraud in the unemployment system,” the letter states.

CalChamber Policy Advocate Preston Young, who is leading the coalition, has stated that the taxes identified by the sponsors to fund single payer health care outlined in ACA 11 will significantly impact nearly all of California’s employers. According to the Tax Foundation, ACA 11 would hit middle-class taxpayers as well, increasing their annual taxes by $12,250 per household.

A copy of the coalition letter can be found here.

The California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber) is the largest broad-based business advocate to government in California. Membership represents one-quarter of the private sector jobs in California and includes firms of all sizes and companies from every industry within the state. Leveraging our front-line knowledge of laws and regulations, we provide products and services to help businesses comply with both federal and state law. CalChamber, a not-for-profit organization with roots dating to 1890, promotes international trade and investment in order to stimulate California’s economy and create jobs. Please visit our website at www.calchamber.com.

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