Ballot Argument in Favor of Health Care Measure Deceives & Misleads According to the Protect Livermore - No on Measure U Coal...
August 15 2018 - 8:07PM
Business Wire
City of Livermore’s Impartial Economic
Analysis Demonstrates the Harmful Consequences to Residents and
Taxpayers if the Flawed Initiative is Enacted
The Protect Livermore Coalition, which represents health care
providers and patients located in and serving the people of
Livermore, today issued a voter alert to address deceptive and
misleading statements contained in official ballot arguments in
favor of the so-called Livermore Accountable and Affordable Health
Care Initiative (Initiative), sponsored by Service Employees
International Union-United Healthcare Workers West (UHW). The
assertions contained in the proponents’ argument are contradicted
by an impartial analysis conducted by Henry W. Zaretsky, Ph.D. and
approved by the City Council on July 20, 2018.
“It is disappointing that an organization claiming to represent
health care workers would go to such lengths to mislead voters,
particularly through attacks against the health care professionals
that provide lifesaving care to Livermore residents,” Protect
Livermore Director C. Duane Dauner said. “Voters can trust the
Livermore City Council and Dr. Zaretsky’s independent analysis,
which demonstrates that the initiative would have great negative
consequences for patients, health care providers and
taxpayers.”
Following are several of the key findings from the Zaretsky
report of the initiative:
Economic Impact on Community
If adopted and implemented as is and withstands legal
challenges, (the Initiative) is likely to have major impacts on the
community. If adopted and implemented as is, the initial
implications are:
- (Health care) Providers will exit the
Livermore market, unless they can re-locate nearby, but outside
Livermore.
- Those that are unable to re-locate are
likely to cut costs in a manner that will lessen access and
compromise the quality of patient care.
- New providers may be reluctant to enter
the Livermore market.
- If access is diminished, the consumers
most affected, as usual, will be low-income, aged and/or disabled,
who will have to travel outside Livermore for care.
Economic Impact to City
Government
Additionally, Dr. Zaretsky analyzed the prospective cost to
taxpayers if the City of Livermore is forced to regulate local
health care providers, something that it currently does not have
the expertise or funding to do. He concluded that the City will be
forced to bear the cost of developing and enforcing regulations
limiting the amounts for medical services that specified hospitals,
medical clinics, dentists, and other health care providers in
Livermore as follows:
- Implementation startup costs estimated
at $750,000 to $1 million; and,
- Ongoing annual costs of approximately
$1.9 million to administer and enforce the initiative.
- Offsetting the costs of implementing
and administering the program through cutting other City services,
increasing City revenues, or a combination of both.
“Dr. Zaretsky’s thorough, impartial fiscal analysis clearly
demonstrates the harmful consequences of this ballot measure, and
we commend the City of Livermore for its diligence to seek the
facts to help voters make an informed decision. This initiative is
opposed by physicians, local hospitals, other health care providers
and consumers, and we are confident that voters will review the
facts and vote NO on November 6th,” Dauner concluded.
PAID FOR BY PROTECT LOCAL HOSPITALS AND HEALTH
CARECommittee major funding from:California Association of
Hospitals and Health SystemsStanford Health CareKaiser
Permanente
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180815005751/en/
Protect LivermoreC. Duane Dauner,
916-812-7547Director