Several states' legislatures are close to enacting single-payer healthcare bills. This is a complete healthcare solution that eliminates the for-profit insurance industry, lowers the cost of pharmaceuticals, reduces bureaucracy, and provides universal coverage. As President Obama explains: "Now, the truth is that, unless you have a — what’s called a single-payer system, in which everybody is automatically covered, then you’re probably not going to reach every single individual."
In addition the state of Vermont has enacted a public health plan and the city of San Francisco has enacted Healthy San Francisco.
The soon-to-be-passed state single payer plans and the current plans, including Healthy San Francisco are unfortunately threatened by the federal preemption clause in ERISA.
The Senate bill requires states to set up exchanges by 2014, but does not allow waivers for state single payer programs until at least 2017. Would a state go to the trouble of setting up an exchange by 2014 and then switch to single payer after 2017? If a Repug were to be elected president in 2016 would their HHS secretary actually grant waivers for single payer programs ?
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