Yes on Prop 35 Campaign Celebrates Community Health Centers’ Impact on Public Health & Equity
For Immediate Release
August 9, 2024
CONTACT: Press@VoteYes35.com
Yes on Proposition 35 will help protect and expand access to timely, affordable, and quality health care
SACRAMENTO, CALIF. — Today, the Yes on Prop 35 campaign celebrates Community Health Centers’ (CHCs) essential role in advancing health equity and improving public health as part of National Health Center Week — and urges voters to help protect and expand access to health care by voting yes on Proposition 35.
CHCs represent the state’s largest primary care network, serving 7.8 million patients (roughly one in five Californians) with essential medical and supportive services at more than 1,300 centers statewide. They deliver preventative and integrated care to some of California’s most vulnerable populations: over half of their patients live below the federal poverty line and nearly one-third are Medi-Cal patients.
“Community health centers serve as the backbone of California’s primary care system,” said Cástulo de la Rocha, President and CEO of AltaMed Health Services. “We serve more than 500,000 patients in Los Angeles and Orange counties, and yet, the state’s chronic underfunding of Medi-Cal and the redirection of over $30 billion in health care funding to non-health care purposes have created a crisis where at least 40 percent of Californians now wait months to see their doctor or dentist.”
Voting yes on Proposition 35 will secure dedicated, ongoing funding to protect and expand patient access to Medi-Cal, without raising taxes. The ballot measure will provide $946 million annually for specialty care at community health centers with additional funds for hospitals, emergency rooms, primary care, family planning, mental health providers, and specialty care providers like cancer, cardiology, and OB/GYN.
“On the heels of National Health Center Week, we celebrate the critical role CHCs play in providing care to those that need it most, but we must also recognize the impact that years of underfunding of our state’s health care system has created. We witness every day the human cost of that crisis and this initiative provides a solution,” said Jane Garcia, CEO of La Clinica de La Raza, which serves over 85,000 patients across 35 locations in the East Bay. “Proposition 35 isn’t just good policy—it’s a crucial step towards true health equity for all Californians, regardless of zip code or income.”
Proposition 35 also provides funding for health care workforce education, training, and community deployment. California needs to add roughly 500,000 new allied health care professionals—such as medical assistants, imaging specialists, and other non-nursing staff—to adequately treat patients.
“With a service area larger than the state of Connecticut, Proposition 35 will help us expand essential, preventative care in the rural communities we’re proud to serve,” said Tory Starr, President and CEO of Open Door Community Health Centers, which supports roughly 65,000 patients across 14 locations in Humboldt and Del Norte counties. “Proposition 35 helps us build a healthier California, one family, and neighborhood at a time.”
Prop 35 has received bipartisan support from a growing coalition of clinics, community health centers, hospitals, physicians, dentists, Planned Parenthood, labor unions, social justice organizations, nurses, health care workers, and first responders. The California Democratic and Republican Parties have endorsed Prop 35 because it will improve access to health care for ALL California patients.
For more information, visit https://voteyes35.com/
About the Yes on Prop 35 Coalition
The Yes on Prop 35 Coalition is a group of physicians, hospitals, health care workers, community health centers, Planned Parenthood, dentists, and emergency responders dedicated to increasing access to health care.