The Billionaire Tax is a direct response to enormous federal cuts that will strip nearly $100 billion from California health care over the next five years.
Most of us learned from an early age that hospitals and emergency rooms provide lifesaving care in a crisis. Regardless of the time of day (or night), we could go to our local ER with chest pains or a dangerous gash and medical professionals would be there to help.
For a long time, this was true.
But over the past decade, a concerning trend has taken hold: Throughout California’s rural communities, hospitals are vanishing.
I’m a contract specialist for a California hospital, processing union grievances and ensuring the contract between the hospital and workers is upheld by both parties. I see firsthand the financial stresses on the system – and the hospital closures happening just down the road. Here, those closures are a big concern. It seems like wherever I go – whether I’m running errands, going grocery shopping or having dinner with my family – the topic comes up, and everyone gets quiet because we know how dangerous another closure would be.
You see, last fall, families in nearby Glenn County saw their county’s only hospital, Glenn Medical Center, close its doors. Now, the nearest hospital is Colusa Medical Center, almost 40 minutes away, and residents there are essentially stranded without easily accessible emergency health care.
As if one closed hospital isn’t bad enough, I worry more may be on the way.
The federal government recently cut tens of billions of dollars from California’s health care system. These federal funding cuts will almost certainly trigger more rural hospital closures in our area. That’s why I’m supporting a one-time, 5% emergency tax on the state’s 200 billionaires to stop hospitals from closing.
Hospital closures are a nationwide problem
The Billionaire Tax is a direct response to enormous federal cuts that will strip nearly $100 billion from California health care over the next five years. The cuts are so deep that they’ll push our state toward a complete health care collapse that will almost certainly force hospitals – especially rural hospitals and ERs like the ones we rely on in Northern California – to close their doors forever.
The challenge facing rural hospitals, like the one where I work, is that many operate with thin or negative margins. The high expense of maintaining essential services – like emergency departments and imaging – without a steady, high volume of patients, gets costly and causes losses.
Add to that reductions in federal Medicaid funding, and the strain becomes too much to bear.
Without adequate resources to operate, it’s not uncommon for hospital administrators to start cutting back on everything from core services and supplies to frontline staff. Fewer health care workers in turn drives a care crisis marked by burnout, excessive wait times and poor patient outcomes.
Across the country, more than 700 rural hospitals are now at risk for closure. In California alone, 16 are at risk. If we don’t take action, many will almost certainly be forced to close, and the impact will be devastating for so many of us.
My friends in Red Bluff, for example, are worried about the rumors that their only hospital – St. Elizabeth Community Hospital – could soon shutter. Their next nearest medical facility would be the hospital where I work, Mercy Medical Medical Center, about 40 minutes away. In emergency situations, delays like that can be fatal.
We don’t need yachts. We need ERs.
For elderly patients and people with chronic conditions, reduced access to long-term care and diagnostic services would make it nearly impossible to receive ongoing treatment. It’s hard to imagine people being able to take three or more hours out of their day for ongoing preventive care, or to find a friend or family member who could do the same if they needed a ride.
More often than not, these appointments would invariably get missed, and patients’ health outcomes would almost certainly worsen.
And, of course, there’s the economic impact to consider. In my town, Mercy Medical Center is the single largest employer. If the hospital closes, my colleagues and I will be out of a job. Unemployment will climb, and we’ll be forced to relocate to make ends meet. Fewer jobs will hurt the tax base and prevent money from circulating in the local economy.
Hospital closures not only lead to higher immediate rates of unemployment, they also deter ongoing economic development. Existing industries can’t retain talent without access to medical care, and new companies look elsewhere to invest if there’s not a viable hospital in town.
Rural communities like ours aren’t asking for much. Unlike billionaires, we don’t need mansions or yachts. We don’t insist on paying lower tax rates than everyone else. As hardworking, honest people, we’re just asking for health care that our families can rely on.
By passing the California Billionaire Tax Act, we can give rural communities a fighting chance.
Frank Espinosa is a contract specialist. Previously, he worked as a floor tech at Mercy Medical Center in Redding, California.
Read original on USA Today.
