CEO Message

Medi-Cal Relief Effort Kicks Into High Gear

This post has been archived and contains information that may be out of date.

California’s hospitals are facing dire financial conditions due to huge pandemic-related losses, years of systemic state underfunding, and unprecedented inflationary pressures

This means many of your organizations at risk of closure are being forced to make tough decisions about reducing services just to keep your doors open. This is why $1.5 billion in immediate state financial relief for California’s hospitals is needed — so access to care can be protected and Californians can be secure in knowing that hospital services will be there when they need them. 

To support ongoing efforts to have state leaders include this $1.5 billion in relief in the 2023 budget, CHA in late February launched a digital media awareness effort focused on ensuring lawmakers, legislative staff, and politically engaged Californians are fully apprised of this critical issue.   

The multifaceted online effort is designed to reinforce the fact that California’s hospitals are in crisis, and without support, care for patients will continue to erode. Already this year, Madera Community Hospital has shuttered. Dozens more hospitals are on the edge of a financial cliff as the cost of providing care continues to rise while state and federal reimbursement for these services remains insufficient

It’s vital that policymakers in Sacramento are not only aware of the fragility of California’s health care system, but also that they understand the implications of inaction. Cities and towns throughout the state will lose vital community pillars of health care services and jobs: Visalia, Porterville, Hollister, Bakersfield, Humboldt County, all of Imperial County, pockets of Los Angeles serving our most vulnerable communities, and many more. Care for millions is at risk. 

Some highlights of the effort to date: 

In just a little more than a week, the digital effort has delivered more than 770,000 impressions and 248,000 video views to the target audience, driving over 2,000 clicks to the microsite.  

CHA will continue to deliver the message over the next several months that urgent relief is needed — not just over the digital airwaves, but directly to the policymakers who hold the budgetary power to protect and preserve the hospital services that so many rely on.