California Democrats Doubles Down on Dumb: Lara Pushes for Socialized Medicine

Ricardo Lara.

He is the primary source of the rot eating away at the state of California.

He loves illegal aliens (he was born to two illegals, and one of the family members molested him).

He embraces the Big Green agenda.

He pushes LGBT without a thought of the consequences to young people or society as a whole.

He taxes, he spends, he over-regulates.

He's a total thug, and a just plain bad man.

Now he wants to take California into a single-payer health care system.

Really ...

Ricardo Lara pushes single-payer health care bill inCalifornia Senate

Legislation introduced in the state Senate on Friday would set California on a path toward the possible creation of a single-payer health care system, a proposal that has failed to gain traction here in the past.

It has failed to gain traction in other states, too, where reality meets with fiscal fantasy every time.

The bill, which is a preliminary step, says that it is the “intent of the Legislature” to enact a law that would establish a comprehensive, single-payer health care program for the benefit of everyone in the state. The legislation, introduced by state Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, does not offer specifics of what the plan would look like, nor does it mention a timetable.

No specifics--where have we heard this before?

A single-payer system would replace private insurance with a government plan that pays for coverage for everyone. Proponents argue that single-payer systems make health care more affordable and efficient, but opponents say they raise taxpayer costs and give government too much power.

What a crock. The government would not be paying for anything because they have no money to pay with. It's our money, funding which belongs to We the People at the outset. If people think health care is costly or out of reach now, just wait till it's free!

Medicare, the federally funded health coverage for older Americans, is often held up as a model of what a single-payer system might look like.

LOL! With cost overruns, and nothing left for the future generations to cash in on? Sounds like a total loser!

Lara said in an interview Thursday that the state needs to be prepared in case the Affordable Care Act is repealed, as President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have promised.

How about getting the government out of health care as much as possible? How about restoring private transaction and voluntary cooperation?

“The health of Californians is really at stake here and is at risk with what is being threatened in Congress,” Lara said, as the debate continued in Washington about the future of President Barack Obama’s signature health law. “We don’t have the luxury to wait and see what they are going to do and what the plan is.”

Lara noted that while the Affordable Care Act expanded health coverage for many Californians, it left others uninsured or underinsured. He said the single-payer bill builds upon his “health for all kids” legislation, which resulted in coverage that began in May for 170,000 immigrant children here illegally.

What? I thought that the Affordable Care Act was supposed to cover everyone? I thought that this status of "uninsured would be taken care of ... forever! Another whopper from the now-removed Obama Administration.

“I’ve met many children who have asked me point blank, ‘What about my mom? What about my dad?’ ” Lara said.

How about the Moms and Dads who live in this country, and their law-abiding children? What about them? Don't their needs matter? When will the state government start putting the needs of Americans first? Is this reall such a hard thing to do expect?

He recently withdrew a request to the federal government, based on a bill he had introduced, that would have allowed adult immigrants here illegally to purchase unsubsidized health plans through Covered California, the state’s insurance exchange.

Whomp! Whomp! Whomp! Tough!

According to the text of Lara’s bill, a single-payer system would help address rising out-of-pocket costs and shrinking networks of doctors.

Oh brother. When Lara shovels it, he uses both hands.

No state has a single-payer health system. Perhaps the best-known effort to create one was in Vermont, but it failed in 2014 after the state couldn’t figure out how to finance it. Last year, Colorado residents rejected a ballot measure that would have used payroll taxes to fund a near universal coverage system.

That little phrase "couldn't figure out how to finance it" is misleading. The lawmakers recognized plenty of plans, but the details required hiking massive fees on the already overtaxed Vermont residents. Young people are feeling that state in massive numbers. Even the Democrats realized they could not raise rates high enough to cover single-payer insanity.

In California, voters rejected a ballot initiative in 1994 that would have established a government-run universal health program. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger later vetoed two bills that would have accomplished the same goal.

Notice how Governor Brown has not entertained a similar system? Notice that Democrats for the most part have laid low in their aggressive pursuit of Utopian progressivism.

It’s difficult to create consensus on single-payer plans because they dramatically shift how health care is delivered and paid for, said Larry Levitt, a senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

“Single-payer plans have lots of appeal in their simplicity and ability to control costs,” Levitt said. “But what I think has always held back a move to single-payer is the disruption they create in financing and delivery of care.”

There is no simplicity with single payer, aside from long waiting times, bad service, and rampant corruption. No single payer!

Final Reflection

I still cannot believe that we have to fight against the single-payer temptation in this country.

Canada and Great Britain have single-payer systems, and they are awful. Long waiting times, poor health care, and the costs on everything are through the roof.

The last thing that we need in the state of California is another bloated, failing government system which impoverishes average California residents.

Outrageous!

I cannot wait to see Lara removed from office--most likely through a criminal conviction.