The following statement is attributed to Carmella Gutierrez, president

of Californians for Patient Care:

“Californians for Patient Care understands the fiscal challenges the

state is facing and the difficult decisions Governor Jerry Brown has to

make when considering the state’s economic position. We are,

nonetheless, extremely disheartened to see that the governor is

proposing nearly $500 million of additional cuts to the state’s

healthcare system in his May budget revise proposal.

The governor is proposing roughly $400 million in additional

reimbursement cuts to Medi-Cal service providers. When healthcare

providers’ Medi-Cal payments are cut, it means fewer service providers

will likely accept Medi-Cal patients, and fewer Medi-Cal patients will

get the care they need. Though budget solutions must be balanced, we

believe the health of the state’s most vulnerable and poorest patients

should not suffer.

California’s children are heavy recipients of Medi-Cal services and

anything that reduces access to Medi-Cal services could greatly

compromise the future health of a generation. We talk with patients

every day and they tell us how hard it is already to get the care they

need, when they need it. We wholeheartedly believe if these proposed

cuts are enacted, millions of Californians will lose access to an

incredibly important lifeline in the form of affordable, basic

healthcare.

Californians for Patient Care will continue to inform Californians of

the affordable healthcare resources in their communities, but we

recognize that those resources will likely be extremely strained as a

result of these proposed budget cuts.”

Californians for Patient Care is a nonprofit organization based in

Sacramento dedicated to protecting the interests of patients and

ensuring all California consumers have fair and equitable access to high

quality healthcare. For more information, visit www.calpatientcare.org.