Los Angeles – County Supervisors Gloria Molina and Zev Yaroslavsky warned county residents of the “ripple effect” Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposed cuts to county health care would have on the area. Local leaders were joined at a press conference today on the steps of LAC+USC Medical Center, the county’s largest public hospital, by doctors, nurses and the president of SEIU California, Annelle Grajeda, which represents more than 700,000 working Californians.
The leaders called on the Governor and legislature to “keep LA healthy” by protecting all public health care funding and following the governor’s lead by closing loopholes, examining all potential revenue streams and working collaboratively.
“Today, we have a health care crisis in LA. You could wait in one of our emergency rooms for a full 12 hours before getting care. Ten local emergency rooms have closed in the last five years. Fifteen hospitals have closed since 2000,” said Supervisor Gloria Molina. “Cuts to health care will cause a medical emergency – lives will be at risk every day right here in your neighborhoods.”
“We are calling on leaders in Sacramento to reject the Governor’s health care cuts and put a firewall around our health care system,” said Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. “When they cut health care, emergency rooms will close, insurance premiums and medical bills for all of us will go up. The bottom line is: all of LA County hurts.”
According to LA Health Action, a nonprofit of The California Endowment, Schwarzenegger’s health care cuts will cause a nearly $50 million loss to LA County’s health care system. The organization estimates more than 60,000 children will lose their health care coverage – enough to fill Dodger Stadium – and the number of area uninsured will increase from the current rate of 1 in 4. Legislators in Sacramento are debating the health care cuts in the coming weeks as part of their plan to solve the state’s $15 billion budget deficit.
“As the state’s largest health care union, SEIU is concerned about the impact of these health care cuts on our patients,” said Grajeda. “But we are also focused on the ripple effect of these cuts throughout our community. If we don’t find new revenue solutions to strengthen our state, kids will miss school, parents will miss work, employers and employees will see insurance premiums rise.”