Health bill concerns Shasta County leaders

Record Searchlight (Redding, CA)

May 10--LaMalfa protesters 1.JPGBuy Photo

About 20 members of the group Shasta Women Together protested Monday in Redding against Rep. Doug LaMalfa's recent vote to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.(Photo: Damon Arthur/Record Searchlight)Buy Photo

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The American Health Care Act bill is on its way to the U.S. Senate, and although the final outcome is still in the air, Shasta County health, hospital and government leaders are voicing concerns on how the act would affect the local population.

Two days before the bill made its way through the House of Representatives, the Shasta County Board of Supervisors sent a letter to Rep. Doug LaMalfa's office, stating strong opposition to the American Health Care Act.

"If enacted, the bill would shift tens of billions of dollars in costs to counties and reverse the significant progress our state has made in providing health care coverage to millions of our residents," reads the letter, drafted by Supervisor Les Baugh.

The county, already strapped for funds, could now see its population become unhealthier over time with the "radical changes" this bill brings, Supervisor David Kehoe said.

"Our responsibility and our duty is to safeguard social, economic, health, public safety and well-being of Shasta County," Kehoe said.

According to Donnell Ewert, director of the Shasta County Health and Human Service Agency, about 61,000 Shasta County residents are on Medi-Cal, and 6,000 receive insurance through Covered California. Before the Affordable Care Act went into effect, 5,000 people were on the County Medical Services Program, which provides limited-term health coverage for uninsured low-income indigent adults. But with the expansion of Medicaid, only 20 people are on county insurance, Ewert said.

The Affordable Health Care Act would reverse the Medicaid expansion and possibly turn it into a voucher system, further restricting financial resources for the program. That could send more people back on county insurance, which could be a "huge blow," Ewert said.

Kehoe fears that without proper insurance coverage and access to a regular physician, more people could find their way into the emergency room.

Kehoe said county supervisors tried on numerous occasions to talk to LaMalfa in person, but have not been able to get a meeting with the congressman.

Parker Williams, LaMalfa's spokesman, said the congressman "has met with numerous health leaders and groups from across the district from all viewpoints." But, he was unable to provide specific details on who those representatives and what cities they were from. Local health care leaders in Shasta County say although they've tried to talk with LaMalfa directly, his office has not made him available.

Mercy Medical Center issued a written statement through its parent company, Dignity Health, expressing disappointment with the American Health Care Act, and is also urging U.S. senators to develop legislation that covers and protects people who need access to care, especially those on the Medicaid program.

"The plan calls for abandoning Medicaid expansion, which, when paired with the significant cuts to the Medicaid program, will reduce our ability to provide essential care to those who are vulnerable, especially children, the elderly, and disabled people in the communities we serve," the statement reads. "The recent amendments to the AHCA do nothing to alleviate these concerns. In fact, the amendments reduce availability and access to care for patients with pre-existing conditions because states would be able to allow insurance companies to vary rates based on age and health status."

A spokesperson from Dignity Health did not return comments on whether hospital representatives had met with LaMalfa himself.

Doreen Bradshaw, executive director of the Health Alliance of Northern California, has continuously voiced that the American Health Care Act could heavily impact how care is delivered in the rural parts of California.

If Medi-Cal expansion were rolled back, Shasta County stands to lose as many as 900 jobs within the health care industry, and $147 million in business revenue. The study was put forth by Partnership Health Plan of California, a Medi-Cal managed care program, and the Shasta Health Assessment and Redesign Collaborative, a group composed of health care leaders throughout Shasta County.

Bradshaw said it's hard to know what next step to take since the bill may undergo changes again.

"We're watching to see what the Senate does," she said. "We may be starting all over again."

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