Imagine living in a hard-working 53-year-old Santa Rosa with chronic, handicapped abdominal pain, crying regularly and falling asleep. He is generally unresponsive to the three treatment courses of bacteria that cause gastric ulcers. He dreams of a constant and painless life. Without health insurance, he cannot afford the proper tests and treatments that can cure his nightly pain.
Lack of insurance coverage and affordable medical care are major barriers to the well-being of more than 25,000 Sonoma County residents who die from disproportionate use of hospitals. As a family doctor who has been practicing in Santa Rosa for 20 years, I have witnessed how insurance coverage brings stability and vitality to patients. However, our fragmented employer-based insurance coverage system leaves people vulnerable, and many of them die from lack of access to health care.
We’ve been teaching the health of our residents at the University of California, San Francisco for over 1,000 hours, and we believe that if all of us do well, we’ll all do well.
Insurance saves lives. The best way to protect people with diabetes and high blood pressure from heart attacks and strokes is to get health insurance. The best way to increase your cancer screening rate is to remove the financial barriers to getting health insurance. In addition to prevention, insurance provides greater access to medicines and referrals to specialists.
Insurance coverage saves money. The Council of Economic Advisers reports that increasing coverage for uninsured people will stimulate the economy without negatively impacting the state’s budget. Affordable California offices work to reduce costs and increase transparency within the medical system, including setting cost targets and making new investments to reduce health insurance premiums.
Insurance coverage narrows health inequality. Everything we are born, live, learn, work, and play has a huge impact on our health. A 2021 update of the Sonoma County portrait showed that the number of uninsured residents decreased from 15% in 2014 to 6% in 2021.
Inequality in insurance coverage is primarily caused by employment status. Employment conditions have long been detrimental to people of color. Increasing coverage will improve the outcome, especially for those in poor health and those who are most historically disadvantaged in terms of access to care.
While some may be concerned about the cost of expanding insurance coverage for everyone, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of treatment. Access to health, such as K-12 education, fire departments, and universal access to interstate highways, is essential for all Californians.
Our country was founded by immigrants seeking a better life. Our Melting Pot thrives when we have social cohesion. The rising tide of increased insurance coverage lifts all boats.
All California citizens are covered by insurance. Since May 1st, Older Adult Expansion has covered the full range of Medi-Cal for all adults over the age of 50. All other Medi-Cal eligibility rules, including income restrictions, will continue to apply, but immigration status is not important. Overnight, thousands of Santa Rosa community health patients can be insured. If you do not have insurance, please contact a certified registered counselor at sonomacounty.ca.gov.
Based on the previously approved extension, Governor Gavin Newsom will provide the full range of Medi-Cal to undocumented residents aged 26-49 years of income by January 1, 2024. I propose to extend it. Contact a member of the Budget Committee state legislature. Helps pass these elements as part of the 2022-23 budget, which expires by June 15. Members can be found in assembly.ca.gov and sentate.ca.gov.
Everyone deserves the pursuit of life, freedom and well-being, so it is imperative to have health insurance for all uninsured Sonoma County residents.
Dr. Danny Toub is an associate clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco, a faculty member at the Sutter Santa Rosa Family Medicine Residency, and a principal clinician at the Santa Rosa Community Health.
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