The Senate voted Aug. 4 to extend Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) funding that provides critical safety-net relief for states like California.
FMAP funding is key to continuing to provide health services to hundreds of thousands of Southern California residents. Once the House of Representatives passes the extension that will mean nearly $2 billion in funding for health care in California.
At a time when our health care system is in crisis, this funding is necessary to care for the sick.
According to recent reports:
- California has fewer than half as many emergency departments per resident as the rest of the country — 7.1 per 1 million residents compared to 19.9 per 1 million residents (Source: California Watch)
- California emergency room waiting times run 30 minutes longer than the national average (Source: California Watch)
- LA County health officials are warning that inpatient and ER visits could be cut by 25% without new funding – equivalent to closing one of LA County’s busy hospitals (Source: Los Angeles Times)
SEIU members are working to make sure that doesn’t happen. Here are our solutions:
- SEIU healthcare members are working alongside the County to renew the health care waiver by August 31 — a huge source of federal funding that covers the cost of treating low-income patients and the uninsured.
- A team of experts is working with federal Medicare and Medicaid officials to ensure provider fees paid by private hospitals will support the public system
- SEIU members are asking Congress to extend Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) funding. The Senate approved funding Aug. 4 and now the House of Representatives must do the same. President Obama proposed FMAP to help protect safety net services in the recession.
Call your representative and tell him or her that this funding is critical to providing health services to those in need.
Want to Get Involved? Leave a comment below about what closing a health care facility would mean to patients, residents and health care workers.
“What are we going to do with these patients that aren’t being cared for? Where are these sick people going to go? We need to get the community involved and let the federal government know we’re serious about protecting our jobs and our patients.” – Sabrina Griffin, LVN and stewards council member, LAC+USC Medical Center
“The federal and state government need to support health care jobs and even add some more.” – Sandra Teasley, Supervising Clinical Laboratory Scientist, Harbor-UCLA
Hoping that we find solution to this current sitution willing to transfer.
I AM SO GLAD TO HEAR THE GOOD NEWS FROM THE SENATE TO PASS THIS AS IT IS SO CRITICAL TO HELP THOSE PATIENTS WHO CANNOT OTHERWISE AFFORD MEDICAL TREATMENT. I SINCERELY HOPE THE HOUSE DOES THE SAME. WHILE WORKING AT LAC/USC MEDICAL CENTER ON THE NIGHT SHIFT, I SEE THE HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO COME FOR SERVICES WHO HAVE NOWHERE ELSE TO GO BUT TO OUR ER AND HAVE TO WAIT MANY HOURS FOR SERVICES. THINGS DO NOT APPEAR TO GET ANY BETTER TOO. I ALSO HOPE GOV. SCHWARZENEGGER HELPS US OUT AS WELL, BUT AS OF NOW, THE BUDGET HASN’T BEEN PASSED YET.