From jac07 at dcn.org Wed May 13 14:53:07 2009 From: jac07 at dcn.org (John Chendo) Date: Wed, 13 May 2009 14:53:07 -0700 Subject: [Davis Democrats] Voluntary action op: May 19, Tuesday 10am , Supervisors, 625 Court Street, Woodland-HEALTH CARE FOR INDIGENTS plan to cut In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Subject: Yolo County Health Care The Yolo County Board of Supervisors will hold a special hearing, known as a Beilensen Hearing, this coming Tuesday, Election Day, MAY 19, 10:00 AM in the Supervisors' Chambers at 625 Court Street,top floor, Woodland. For an estimated annual savings of $1.5 million, the Board is receiving comments on a proposal to reduce public health services provided by the County to people who have no medical insurance at all, even Medi-cal. This is the safety net. The Yolo County Board of Supervisors will also be voting on whether to eliminate all medical services for people who do not have proof of documentation. These are difficult times for everyone and especially cities and counties. Most of the services counties provide are mandated by law; and some of those services are paid for exclusively by the county while others often come with some level of matching funds. The County is the provider of last resort for people who have no doctor to go to. If disease, physical and mental, and injury go left untreated, the sick will wind up at an emergency room or incarcerated, where their medical needs must be treated, at a much higher cost. For instance, swine flu. Or diabetes. Or the untreated mentally ill person who has few supportive friends. It's difficult to sit back and see the safety net program cut so severely. For that reason, it's important to take the opportunity to speak out about the cuts. Perhaps there are suggestions that can be made about short or long terms solutions to Yolo County's budget dilemma, without cutting its responsibility to provide for the public health. The fiscal long-term consequences are counter-productive, because earlier treatment with prescription drugs can prevent more expensive medical, safety, and social disruptions later. The current plan has been cost-effective: treating many people at relatively low cost. The moral lessons are short-sighted: it is not an answer to simply let the sick get sicker , hopefully out of our sight. Public health and safety go together. The medical facts are clear: some diseases will be communicable to the general population through numerous vectors regardless of documentation. As JFK (the son of the SEC chairman under FDR) said ?If a democratic government cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.? The Biblical teaching is clear : Treat the stranger and the sojourner as you would want to be treated, for you were once strangers and sojourners also. The 5 County Supervisors: Mike McGowan District 1 mike.mcgowan at yolocounty.org or by phone (916) 375-6440 Helen Thomson, District 2 helen.thomson at yolocounty.org or by phone at (530) 757-5557 Max Rexroad, District 3 matt at rexroad.com or by phone at (530) 666-8621 Jim Provenza, District 4 jim.provenza at yolocounty.org or by phone at (530) 666-8623 Duane Chamberlain, District 5 duane.chamberlain at yolocounty.org or by phone at (530) 666-8627 Yolo County Health Officer Joseph P. Iser, MD, DrPH, MSc (530) 666-8645 Our 5 County Supervisors are the only ones who have the vote on this plan. The hearing on this plan is May 19,Tuesday, 10am, in the County Administration Building, 625 Court Street, Woodland, across from the Main Post office.