SDCTA supports the Medi-Cal Hospital Reimbursement Improvement Act (2016)
SDCTA supports the Medi-Cal Hospital Reimbursement Improvement Act as it safeguards health care funding for low-income patients and children. The legislation would ensure that California maximizes its share of federal health care funding and that the money is used toward its intended purposes. Because private hospitals have agreed to contribute to a program that brings in $3 billion a year in matched federal funds, these resources should go to the 12 million Californians under Medi-Cal that need this aid the most. State officials and government leaders should not be able to divert these funds for other interests, unrelated to the provision of health care for underprivileged children and families. Otherwise, these missing health care resources will have to be compensated by taxpayers and private insurers whose taxes and premiums will increase respectively to subsidize costs. This legislature is a sensible and preventative measure that seeks to maximize California's share of federal funding, protect health care funds from poor governance and accountability, and reduce the risk of closures and insufficient funding for hospitals that provide necessary care to the state's most vulnerable populations.