A Resounding Victory

By Aileen E. Wetzel, Executive Director

Proposition 35, which will provide dedicated and ongoing funding for Medi-Cal, passed by a two-to-one margin in the November 5 election. This resounding victory is a direct result of your financial and volunteer support to ensure that Medi-Cal patients will have access to quality care and that dollars targeted for health care will be spent on health care.

It’s heartening that voters made clear their support for a healthy Medi-Cal system, which serves over 15 million patients, including children, seniors, low-income families and people with disabilities. Doing so without raising taxes made it even more attractive to voters.

CMA was a co-chair of the campaign, which included a wide variety of physicians, clinics, hospitals, Planned Parenthood, first responders and other health care providers. The coalition was strong and demonstrated how we can work together to accomplish great results.

“With the passage of Proposition 35, we are ensuring Medi-Cal receives the dedicated funding it needs to serve the millions of seniors, children, low-income families and people with disabilities in our state,” CMA President Shannon Udovic-Constant, MD said in a statement. “Going forward, we will be able to hire more physicians, first responders, paramedics and other health care workers to address the worker shortage and ensure Californians aren’t having to wait hours in the emergency room or months to get an appointment with a physician. And once the new law is implemented, doctors, hospitals, clinics and health centers will have much needed stability to serve the patients in their communities.”

I want to thank everyone who gave their time and money to the effort. While this is a huge victory and helps secure funding in California, the spotlight will now move to Washington. The ultimate goal of Proposition 35 is to protect and enhance public health by improving access to care for those most at risk and by encouraging, through that accessibility, preventive care that can reduce costs. 

We expect public health to be a big focus next year. There have been tremendous strides in nearly eradicating preventable diseases, and it is likely that it will fall upon the medical community to fight misinformation that can put Californians at unnecessary risk. 

I can assure you that SSVMS and CMA will fight at the federal and state level for your patients and their health. But it also may be more incumbent upon you to talk with your patients to help them understand their options, such as vaccinations and why they are important, and that if they have questions or hear something negative about a medical treatment or procedure they should ask you for an honest answer.

I also want to mention that I hope you are enjoying our new, more dynamic online magazine layout. Two years ago we began a transition to bringing SSV Medicine online to make it easier to read, more accessible wherever you are and to take advantage of the added features an online version can offer. This issue is the next evolution in our digital transition and we think it’s an exciting upgrade that looks great on any device. There’s going to be a period during which we do some tweaking and refinements, so while we ask you to bear with us a bit we’d also like to hear your thoughts and suggestions about our new platform. To send us your feedback, email Brandon Craig at bcraig@ssvms.org.

Thank you again for all you did to help pass Proposition 35 and it’s on to our next challenges!