A few CalChamber-identified Job Killer bills, including AB 1400 (Kalra, Lee and Santiago), creating a single payer health care system, are on the move in the Legislature.
AB 1400 passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Thursday with amendments and has moved to the Assembly floor for a vote. The bill must be voted on and passed by the full Assembly by January 31 in order to stay alive. CalChamber is leading a coalition of more than 120 organizations to oppose AB 1400 and ACA 11 (Kalra and Lee), which together would create and finance a new single payer health care system called CalCare, raising taxes exorbitantly.
CalChamber Policy Advocate Preston Young, who is leading the coalition, has stated that the taxes needed to fund single payer health care, as outlined in AB 1400’s companion bill, ACA 11, will significantly impact nearly all California employers. Previous analyses of a single-payer system estimated it would cost at least $400 billion a year, but many contend that estimate is low. According to the Tax Foundation, ACA 11 would increase taxes by $12,250 per household annually.