I want to know why I’m wrong- because this question has been eating at me for years- and I secretly blame the Democrats for all of the health insurance problems.
Why can’t California and New York bind together in an interstate compact, and create medicare for all of their citizens?
California and New York have GDP’s above most other countries in the world. In general, democrats hold majorities. Tell me why I shouldn’t blame the democrats for:
-
Doing Obama care half assed, when something like 80% people wanted a public option.
-
Not just doing it themselves. For instance even NYC by itself has a GDP above Denmark, and NYC is filled to the brim with the super rich.
ITT: people who don’t understand that Medicaid is not Medicare, and that means-testing means a service isn’t “for all.”
Editing to add: Medicaid is funded mostly by the federal government, 69% vs 31% funding from the state. So even if it wasn’t means-tested (one has to have an income below a certain amount, or be disabled to a certain degree before qualifying) it would not meet OP’s definition, a single payer health insurance system funded by the state.
To answer OP’s question, a state funded single payer health insurance program would likely run afoul of the Commerce Clause of the constitution which states the federal government has jurisdiction over interstate commerce. UHC, Aetna, and other nation-wide insurance companies would absolutely sue over the state programs interfering with their right to conduct interstate commerce, and they would almost certainly win, even without a hard right SCOTUS like the current one.
Also, people who are just going, “eh, fuck the commerce clause, the states should just do their own thing!” totally forgetting the absolute shitshow this would unleash, both from private companies and conservative states.
Yeah but we’re clearly no longer using the Constitution