
Editor’s Note- Vote Smart is an informational series focused on the upcoming November ballot, and it runs ahead of the Election Day column Mark Your Ballot. Everything on the ballot – propositions, measures and candidates – will be addressed here before being summarized on November 5, 2024.
Making your way up the ballot, Proposition 35 is an easy yes. There’s a number of reasons; the funding that is currently supporting Medi-Cal is due to expire, and taxing health care providers like Blue Shield to pay into the fund is project to raise betweenand prevent the state from raiding that fund to pay for things other than health care.
The money will come from a tax known as the Managed Care Organization Tax; health insurers agree to be taxed to get a dollar-for-dollar match from the federal government. This is looking to bring in more than $5 billion next year.
With the recent increase in who can receive Medi-Cal, it’s vital that that fund gets more money, and the proposition also allows doctors and providers to get higher rate increases than what is currently in the budget.
The non-profit focused site Cal Matters notes “The initiative’s main supporters, which include the California Medical Association and Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, say voters should decide if they want to prevent future lawmakers from using money meant for Medi-Cal on other services.”
So that’s a yes. More health care coverage for those in need, better payments for doctors providing those services (which will lead to more availability of care,) and a guarantee that that money stays in the health care fund.
Judith Martin-Straw