Adds a new Chapter 175N to the General Laws, to create a single-payer system for health care in Massachusetts. In particular:
Establishes the Massachusetts Health Care Trust, which will be the single-payer body responsible for the collection and disbursement of funds required to provide health care services for every resident of the Commonwealth.
Establishes a 29 member board to include representatives nominated by health care professionals, labor, senior citizens, single-payer advocates, people with disabilities and caregivers, children's advocates, providers of legal services for people of low-income; 8 people elected by the citizens of Massachusetts; the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Administration and Finance, and the Commissioner of Public Health.
Creates a position of Executive Director and a number of offices to administer the Trust.
Guarantees health care access to all residents without regard to citizenship status, incarceration, financial or employment status, ethnicity, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, previous health problems, or geographic location.
Directs the Trust to pay for care sought by Massachusetts residents in bordering states.
Directs the Trust to control costs by establishing a global budget and limiting duplicative expenditures for construction and major equipment, by negotiating statewide wholesale prices for pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, and by more efficient use of health care facilities.
Establishes eligibility criteria for both participants and health care providers, the enumeration of covered benefits, provisions relative to "wraparound" coverage for federal health programs, and the establishment of a Health Care Trust Fund to finance the operation or the Trust, with a dedicated health care tax imposed on employers, workers, and citizens.
Establishes an employer payroll tax of 7.5%, exempting the first $20,000 of payroll per establishment; an additional employer payroll tax of 0.5% on establishments with 100 or more employees; a payroll tax of 2.5% on employees, exempting the first $20,000 of income; a payroll tax on the self-employed of 10%, exempting the first $20,000 of payroll per self-employed resident; and a 10% tax on unearned income (including dividends, capital gains, rents, and profits) excluding the first $20,000, as well as social security, unemployment benefits, workers compensation, sick pay, paid family and medical leave, and pensions.