Contact: Molly Weedn | molly@weednpa.com
Sacramento, CA – Community health centers and advocacy organizations dedicated to serving the LGBTQ+ community are opposed to the dangerous ballot measure that will reduce services and close community clinics, where a significant portion of LGBTQ+ patients go for their health care.
“We work to build a community where everyone lives in equality and is free from social stigma, and as we celebrate PRIDE month, it’s an important reminder that access to health care is a big part of that mission,” said Max Desposti (He/Him), Founder and Executive Director, North County LGBTQ Resource Center. “This measure is in direct conflict with what we stand for, as it would create significant barriers for the LGBTQ+ community in accessing essential healthcare.”
A University of California Los Angeles study outlined significant barriers that the LGBTQ+ community has in accessing health care, including not having a usual source of care, having trouble finding providers and experiencing unfair treatment.
“This measure would take billions of dollars out of community health centers, forcing clinics to reduce services, limit hours or in some case, close doors,” Jason Halperin, M.D., Director of Specialty Programs, DAP Health. “Our patients are already facing barriers to care; this initiative would further marginalize the LGBTQ+ community at a time when the services they depend on are being cut and their lives are being threatened.”
Nearly 15 million Californians rely on Medi-Cal for access to health including 1.4 million patients who identify as LGBTQ+ Community clinics play an integral role in providing care for these patients, as they see 1 in 4 Medi-Cal patients throughout California.
To learn more about this dangerous measure, and view the broad coalition in opposition, visit: https://protectpatientsca.com/