“Canary in the coal mine” closures are harbinger of more to come — voters can pass California Billionaire Tax in November to backfill cuts that threaten care

BAKERSFIELD, CA – Healthcare workers, patients, and community advocates are sounding the alarm as healthcare layoffs rain down in Kern County. Dignity Health, owned by CommonSpirit, announced plans to permanently lay off 57 healthcare workers, according to a WARN notice filed with California’s Employment Development Department. At the same time, Adventist Health disclosed layoffs for 22 workers, with additional “reclassification” policies set to be instituted for dozens of additional employees.  

According to Kern County, more fiscal trouble looms for Bakersfield’s healthcare system due to the Trump administration’s so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill,” including up to 50,000 residents losing access to medical coverage. Without that funding, local clinics and hospitals will continue to be forced to reduce services, lay off staff, or close their doors forever. 

Proponents of Proposition 40 say this is exactly why voters must pass the California Billionaire Tax — because if billionaires don’t pay their fair share to keep local hospitals, clinics, and ERs open, working families will. At the same time, as closures like these mount, patients will simply go without key preventative care, leading to higher costs for all, and unnecessary, avoidable, or earlier patient deaths. 

“I’ve watched dedicated, hardworking coworkers — people who show up every day for their patients — get laid off, and it’s terrifying. Layoffs cost lives. When there aren’t enough of us on the floor, patients wait hours for care and families go home without the treatment they came for,” said Maria Diaz, Medical Assistant at Dignity Health Medical Foundation in Bakersfield. “I’m scared of the Medi-Cal cuts coming, and scared of what happens to my own job. Prop 40 asks California’s billionaires to pay their fair share so we can fund the care my patients depend on. Being a nurse is my dream, and voting yes on Prop 40 this November is how I keep fighting for my patients.”

“This is exactly what we feared would happen. As more time passes, the layoffs and cuts to services across California continue to pile up,” said Debru Carthan, Vice President of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, one of the lead sponsors of Proposition 40. “When federal leaders choose tax breaks for billionaires over keeping our hospitals and ERs open, working families pay the price. We’re working diligently to educate voters so they can make the right choice and pass Prop 40 in November.”

Prop 40 qualified for the ballot after supporters submitted more than 1.6 million signatures from Californians across the state — nearly twice the number required to qualify — making it one of the strongest citizen-led ballot qualification efforts in California history. Voters consistently support the Billionaire Tax by large, double-digit margins. 

The Billionaire Tax has received hundreds of endorsements from elected officials, labor unions, and community-based organizations ranging from U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, Representative Ro Khanna, Teamsters California, AFSCME California, SEIU-UHW, Committee of Interns and Residents / SEIU, UNITE HERE Local 11, UNITE HERE Local 30, AFT Local 1521, Disability Voices United, Our Revolution California, Oxfam America, Color of Change, and many, many more. 

More than 400 hospitals statewide laid off more than 3,400 healthcare workers as of mid-March, with a second wave of layoffs currently underway as funding cuts tied to recent federal policy changes are phased in over the next several years. Statewide, projections show the cuts could result in the loss of up to 145,000 healthcare jobs, impacting hospitals, clinics, and home care providers alike. Meanwhile, California was already grappling with a longstanding shortage of healthcare workers, leaving hospitals and clinics stretched thin even before these new threats emerged.

Without revenue from the California Billionaire Tax, federal healthcare cuts are expected to put an estimated 83 California hospitals and clinics at risk of closure. Cuts and closures have already started, impacting communities from Los Angeles to Oakland to Glenn County.  

In November, California voters will at last have a chance to make billionaires pay their fair share to help prevent that through Prop 40, a commonsense ballot initiative that places a one-time 5% tax on the wealth of approximately 200 billionaires who reside in the Golden State. Ninety percent of that funding will go to offset Medi-Cal cuts in order to prevent ER and other service closures, and 10% will go toward funding food assistance and public education.

Impact of federal healthcare cuts 

• Dozens of hospitals and ERs will close; dozens more will be forced to cut back services and lay off healthcare workers. The patient care crisis will worsen as patients are forced to wait longer and drive further for medical care. 
• Up to 3.4 million Californians could lose their healthcare coverage under Medicaid, including many seniors, children, veterans, and people with disabilities 
• The state could lose about $20 billion in federal healthcare funding every year — destabilizing the health care system and driving up health care costs for everyone.
• Insurance premiums for Californians who purchase Affordable Care Act plans could rise as much as 97%, and an estimated 400,000 Californians could be priced out of healthcare altogether. 

Impact of food assistance cuts

• Currently, 5.5 million Californians benefit from food aid. 3.5 million are senior citizens and children.
• At least 754,000 people could lose their entire monthly benefit, with over 3 million households facing reductions.
• The estimated funding loss is $2.5 to $4.5 billion annually.
• The SNAP/Cal-Fresh cuts, if not backfilled by other funding mechanisms, are expected to cost California approximately 400,000 jobs over the next nine years.

About Prop 40, the California Billionaire Tax Act

Prop 40 proposes a one-time emergency tax on the wealth of the state’s ultra-high-net-worth billionaires to safeguard Medi-Cal, keep hospitals and emergency rooms open, expand food assistance, and support public education. The initiative is a direct response to federal healthcare cuts under HR1 that threaten healthcare access and economic stability for millions of Californians.

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Paid for by Save California Health Care and Public Education, Sponsored by Service Employees International Union – United Healthcare Workers West.  Committee’s Top Funder  Service Employees International Union – United Healthcare Workers West

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