Commonsense measure is the only way to keep hospitals and ERs open, prevent rising healthcare costs, and save healthcare for millions
SACRAMENTO — The California Billionaire Tax coalition today responded to a new report from the California Legislative Analyst’s Office warning that the state’s uninsured population could double by 2030 as federal healthcare cuts and Medicaid restrictions take effect.
According to the report, 5.3 million Californians could lose their healthcare coverage in the coming years due to new Medicaid work requirements, more frequent eligibility checks, rising insurance premiums, and immigration-related barriers to care. The report also warns that uncompensated care costs for hospitals and clinics could increase by billions of dollars, placing enormous strain on healthcare providers already operating on thin margins.
“This report confirms what healthcare workers, patients, and local communities have been warning for months: California is heading toward a healthcare affordability and accessibility crisis,” said Debru Carthan, Executive Vice President of the California-based union of frontline healthcare workers, SEIU-UHW, one of the lead sponsors of the proposal. “Because of massive federal healthcare cuts, millions of Californians will lose coverage and hospitals will be forced to close their doors forever, unless billionaires finally pay their fair share.”
As federal healthcare cuts from H.R.1 begin to rip healthcare away from millions of Californians, a growing list of lawmakers and organizations are coming together to support a one-time 5% emergency tax on California’s roughly 200 billionaires as a direct response to the massive cuts. The commonsense measure is designed to ensure that billionaires pay their fair share to stabilize and protect the state’s healthcare system, including hospitals, nursing homes, community health centers, and home care services. The California Billionaire Tax coalition also recently filed more than 1.5 million signatures to qualify for the November ballot.
The coalition said the findings demonstrate why California needs long-term, stable funding to protect healthcare access statewide, rather than temporary budget patches or cuts to essential services.
“When uninsured rates rise, everyone pays the price,” said Nastasha Evens, patient registration at Alameda Hospital. “Families delay care until emergencies become life-threatening. Emergency rooms become overcrowded. Rural hospitals and community clinics struggle to survive. Healthcare workers are pushed beyond the breaking point. Meanwhile, billionaires and corporations continue to accumulate extraordinary wealth while contributing less and less toward the systems working families rely on.”
The more than 400 hospitals statewide have already laid off more than 3,400 healthcare workers as of mid-March, with a second wave of layoffs expected 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.
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 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.
About the California Billionaire Tax Act
The California Billionaire Tax Act proposes a one-time emergency tax on the wealth of the state’s ultra-high-net-worth individuals 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.
| 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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