SACRAMENTO – The California Health Care Partnership today announced it is launching a television commercial on broadcast and cable television in the Fresno media market. Fresno will be hit particularly hard by proposed state health care cuts, putting the only Level One trauma center between Los Angeles and Sacramento at risk. Fresno is the first region to see the ads as part of an evolving campaign to raise awareness about the impact of the cuts on all Californians.
The 30 second TV ad is entitled “Trauma/Fresno” and features Dr. Virgil Airola, MD of Fresno; Licensed Vocational Nurse Kit de Young of Visalia and Nurse Practitioner Carmen Morales-Board of Bakersfield.
The script of the ad reads:
“In Sacramento, a ten percent budget cut for health care is just a number on a spreadsheet, but around Fresno, another round of across-the-board cuts would be devastating, threatening the only Level One trauma center between Los Angeles and Sacramento, putting people across the Central Valley at risk. But if our legislators do their jobs…doctors and nurses can keep doing ours. Stop the health care cuts, or we’ll all pay the price.”
The ad can be viewed on YouTube at: www.youtube.com/user/CAHealthCare
Two weeks ago, California health care providers – hospitals, doctors, pharmacies, adult day health care providers, dentists, clinics – all saw their Medi-Cal reimbursement rates cut by 10%, despite the fact that California already ranks near the bottom of the nation in Medi-Cal rates. As a result of the cuts, many providers are being forced to end their participation in the underfunded Medi-Cal program or even have to stop providing services altogether.
Additional health care cuts in the state budget would only increase the number of uninsured Californians, put more pressure on overburdened and overcrowded emergency rooms, and place specialized services like Fresno Community Hospital’s trauma center at risk for all patients.
The ad is sponsored by the California Health Care Partnership – a coalition of doctors, nurses, hospitals, health care providers, seniors and consumers concerned about potential health care cuts and their impact on patients and health care in California. The coalition includes the AARP; California Medical Association; Service Employees International Union; Catholic Healthcare West; Kaiser Permanente; and Health Access.