WILL PROPOSITION 44 IMPROVE PATIENT CARE?
- No. Prop 44 threatens care for millions of California patients who rely on community health centers and clinics for their health care.
- Research from health care economists at the Berkeley Research Group (BRG) found that if Prop 44 passes, it would cut $1.7 billion from community health centers and clinics in its first year alone, and eighty-eight percent of clinics will have negative operating margins.
HOW WOULD PROPOSITION 44 HURT PATIENT CARE?
- Prop 44 would cut $1.7 billion from community health centers and clinics in its first year alone, forcing health centers to reduce patient services and even close, resulting in a devastating loss of care for millions, including seniors, Medi-Cal patients, veterans, and working families.
- Clinic closures and a reduction in services will lead patients to skip vital preventive care, increasing emergency room visits and worsening overcrowding and wait times for all patients.
WHAT PATIENT SERVICES ARE AT RISK UNDER PROP 44
- Prop 44 is so poorly written that it excludes funding for important patient and staff services. As a result, the following services are at risk of being cut:
Clinic Staffing:
- Nursing Managers
- Chief Medical Officers and Physician Leaders
- Healthcare Enrollment Navigators
- Appointment Referral Coordinators
- Billing & Accountants
- Janitorial & Maintenance
- Human Resources
- Recruitment & Workforce Development
PROGRAMS & SERVICES:
- Telemedicine
- Quality Care Improvement Programs
- Staff Training and Development
- Translation Services
- Patient Medical Records
- Appointment Support Services
- Transportation Services
MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES & INFRASTRUCTURE:
- Mammograms, CT and X-Ray Machines
- Building New Clinics and Expanding Clinic Sites
- Rent & Lease of Buildings
- Utilities
- Fire & Earthquake Insurance
WILL PROPOSITION 44 STRENGTHEN OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY OVER COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS AND CLINICS?
- No. Prop 44 is unnecessary. Community health centers and clinics are heavily regulated by the federal and state governments, with strict reporting requirements and audits.
- Community health centers and clinics are not-for-profit organizations—focusing resources on patient care and community benefits, not profits or shareholders.
- And a majority of the board of directors must be patients of that facility, ensuring decisions reflect patient and community needs above all else.
DO COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS AND CLINICS SPEND TOO MUCH ON MANAGEMENT OR EXECUTIVES?
- Community health centers and clinics are not-for-profit organizations—focusing resources on patient care and community benefits, not profits or shareholders.
- Community health centers and clinics provide compensation for management and executives the same way they set compensation for nurses, caregivers and all employees—they pay competitive wages and benefits that allow them to recruit and retain the most qualified caregivers and leaders.
WHY WAS PROPOSITION 44 FILED?
- Prop 44 is a shameful power play by special interests who are weaponizing the ballot proposition process to gain political leverage over community health centers and clinics in contract negotiations. Rather than improve patient care, it will result in the closure of hundreds of clinics and jeopardize care for millions of patients.
- It is not right to use patients as pawns to try and gain political leverage.
WHO OPPOSES PROP 44?
- California School Nurses Organization
- Planned Parenthood Affiliates of CA
- California Academy of Family Physicians
- American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists District IX
- California Medical Association
- California Primary Care Association Advocates
- California Hospital Association
- California Children’s Hospital Association
- California Behavioral Health Association
- California Black Health Network
- American College of Emergency Physicians, California
- California Teachers Association