California Health Care Cuts Will Cripple Prevention, Leave Poor Out In Cold, Counties Say

A battle has broken out between California counties and Governor Jerry Brown, who is proposing to take an estimated $2.5 billion over the next three years from local health and prevention programs.

These funds, which have flowed from the state to counties since 1991, support community clinics in Los Angeles and other cities that serve poor people who don’t have insurance. They help pay for public health programs, like one in Alameda County that provides preventive services to children with asthma, reducing hospitalizations.

The Brown administration says the money will no longer be needed by the counties because the Affordable Care Act—Obamacare—will enable low-income people to obtain health coverage, either through the Medicaid program or from federal subsidies for private health insurance. Brown proposes to take $300 million from the counties this fiscal year, $900 million next year and $1.3 billion in 2015-2016.

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Source: Forbes