California Medical Association urges legislature to adopt state budget that improves access to care for Medi-Cal patients May 22, 2017 General, Medi-Cal California State Budget, Medi-Cal, Prop. 56 (tobacco tax), State Legislature 0 PRESS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Joanne Adams, jadams@cmanet.org Sacramento, CALIF. – Today, Governor Jerry Brown released his revised state budget, which applies tobacco tax revenues to cover general fund responsibilities in the Medi-Cal program. In response, California Medical Association (CMA) President Ruth E. Haskins, M.D., made the following statement: "We’re disappointed that Governor Brown’s revised budget continues to ignore the clear language of the tobacco tax initiative (Proposition 56) and the will of California voters. "More than a third of Californians, including 50 percent of children in the state, rely on Medi-Cal for health care. Offering increased coverage is a hollow talking point when patients are forced to wait months to secure an appointment with a physician or dentist, can’t access a specialist or have to travel 60-plus miles to their medical appointments. "Instead of improving access to care for the 14.3 million Californians served by Medi-Cal, the budget takes tobacco tax revenues to backfill cuts to the state’s general fund contribution to Medi-Cal. This ‘rob Peter to pay Paul’ approach does nothing to improve California’s health – it maintains the unsustainable status quo and adds more patients to the back of the line in over-crowded waiting and emergency rooms. "By embracing Medicaid expansion, California has made incredible strides to reduce our uninsured population. Building on this important step, we now need to provide Medi-Cal patients with real and equal access to health care. We urge the Legislature to adopt a budget that reflects their values and dedicates Prop. 56 funds to their voter-intended purpose.” The State Legislature has until June 15 to adopt a final 2017-2018 budget. The stakes are high – urge the Legislature to adopt a budget that reinstates tobacco tax revenues for Medi-Cal patient access to care. # # # The California Medical Association represents the state’s physicians with more than 43,000 members in all modes of practice and specialties. CMA is dedicated to the health of all patients in California. For more information, please visit CMAnet.org, and follow CMA on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. NOTE: Past tobacco tax-related press releases, op-eds and articles: May 9, 2017: Press Release: Leading California Health Care Providers Call on Governor and Legislature to Keep Promise to Medi-Cal Patients April 17, 2017: #MatchedinCA: Making dreams come true for UCR medical students March 31, 2017: Californians with Medi-Cal face hurdles to see specialists throughout the state March 16, 2017: Press Release: California’s physicians and dentists unveil plan to honor will of tobacco tax voters and increase patient access to health care Comments are closed.
