A new rule in California aims to limit health care price increases to just 3% each year. The Health Care Affordability Board approved the rule on Wednesday.

Doctors, hospitals and health insurance companies in California will be limited to annual price increases of 3% starting in 2029 under a new rule state regulators approved Wednesday in the latest attempt to corral the ever-increasing costs of medical care in the United States.

The money Californians spent on health care went up about 5.4% each year for the past two decades. Democrats who control California’s government say that’s too much, especially since most people’s income increased just 3% each year over that same time period.

The 3% cap, approved Wednesday by the Health Care Affordability Board, would be phased in over five years, starting with 3.5% in 2025. Board members said the cap likely won’t be enforced until the end of the decade.

A new state agency, the Office of Health Care Affordability, will gather data to enforce the rule. Providers who don’t comply could face fines.

  • HubertManne@kbin.social
    262·
    2 months ago

    Im not sure how well this is going to work given all the components of healthcare will need to rise with inflation. Don’t get me wrong I like the idea but I think it would make more sense to have something more akin to what obamacare put in place limiting profit and administration costs.

    • stembolts@programming.dev
      22·
      2 months ago

      Public option would’ve been nice. Removed by Republicans from the final ACA bill. RIP.

      As I understand it the public option is the government acting as a provider itself, some things it could do cheaper, others could be done better by private practice, but conservatives really didn’t want people to have a public competitor… even if it’s optional. That is how I understand the concept of public option, is it somewhat close to right?

      • HubertManne@kbin.social
        10·
        2 months ago

        oh yes I liked the public option. Its pretty much in place to as it would just be an extension of medicare/medicaid which is already a public state run insurance system. it should be basically be a buy into medicare for younger folks.

        • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
          21·
          2 months ago

          except it wasn’t Republicans

          I must have missed the part where a whole bunch of Republicans voted in favor of a public option

    • Count042@lemmy.ml
      16·
      2 months ago

      This is a really bad comment.

      As Catloaf pointed out, it was explicitly Democrats responsible for this failure. The party as a whole used Lieberman the same way they used Manchin and Sinema to take the blame for things the faction in power didn’t want but didn’t want to be seen as opposing.

      Comments like this almost seem as intentional to not hold those factions driving the party further and further to the right accountable for their actions.

      • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
        32·
        2 months ago

        This is a really bad comment.

        Democrats bad Democrats bad Democrats bad Democrats bad Democrats bad Democrats bad Democrats bad Democrats bad Democrats bad Democrats bad Democrats bad Democrats bad Democrats bad Democrats bad Democrats bad Democrats bad Democrats bad Democrats bad Democrats bad Democrats bad Democrats bad Democrats bad.

        • HubertManne@kbin.social
          1·
          2 months ago

          thanks. The comment you replied to which replied to mine just had me thinking. wow. is this ever left field.