Cost of single-payer may not be staggering, after all

Readers’ letters

The Mercury News does a good job scaring readers away from a California singlepayer health care system by referring to its “staggering” $400 billion price tag and the “substantial tax increases” that may be needed to pay for it. Carefully reading between the lines, however, reveals a different story. At least $200 billion of the cost would come from Medicare and Medicaid, and those new taxes come in place of the hundreds of billions that Californians, employers and individuals are currently paying in health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs. In other words, for almost exactly the amount already being spent, we can provide health care to every single Californian, saving thousands of lives each year and improving the quality of life of millions more.

Steven Patt Cupertino