What To Know About Prop 35
10/24/2024 | 1m 55sVideo has Closed Captions
Prop 35 would allocate MCO tax revenues to raise Medi-Cal payments for doctors.
Prop 35 would direct revenue from California’s Managed Care Organization tax toward increasing Medi-Cal payments for doctors and specialists. Supporters argue it will improve access for low-income patients. Opponents warn it could strain the state budget amid a large deficit.
Problems with Closed Captions? Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems with Closed Captions? Closed Captioning Feedback
SoCal Matters is a local public television program presented by PBS SoCal
What To Know About Prop 35
10/24/2024 | 1m 55sVideo has Closed Captions
Prop 35 would direct revenue from California’s Managed Care Organization tax toward increasing Medi-Cal payments for doctors and specialists. Supporters argue it will improve access for low-income patients. Opponents warn it could strain the state budget amid a large deficit.
Problems with Closed Captions? Closed Captioning Feedback
How to Watch SoCal Matters
SoCal Matters is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipEvery few years, lawmakers renew a tax on certain health insurance plans.
It's called the Managed Care Organization or MCO tax.
The money generated is used to get an equal amount of revenue from the federal government to support healthcare.
Lawmakers have relied on this tax for many years to maintain the state's expansive public insurance program known as Medi-Cal.
More than 14 million low-income Californians use Medi-Cal.
If this tax already exists, how would the statewide ballot initiative change it?
Over the past decade, California lawmakers have drastically expanded Medi-Cal.
Low-income people, regardless of citizenship, are covered.
Benefits include things like hearing aids, dental care and doulas.
Payments to doctors that take Medi-Cal have not kept up with program expansion or inflation.
California's reimbursement rate falls in the bottom third nationally, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
This makes it hard for Medi-Cal patients to find a doctor.
Prop 35 would take the existing tax we talked about and earmark the money to increase certain Medi-Cal payments, including primary and specialty care.
It would also prevent lawmakers from using the tax money for other purposes.
Earlier this year, Governor Gavin Newsom sought to do just that by eliminating Med-Cal rate increases to decrease the state deficit.
Supporters say, without better pay, low-income patients will continue to struggle to find a doctor.
There's no registered opposition to the measure, but policy experts caution that initiatives like this make it difficult to balance the state budget.
California currently faces an estimated $56 billion deficit over the next two years.
Vote yes if you want to ensure this tax money is spent on Medi-Cal, vote no if you want to keep things the way they are.
SoCal Matters is a local public television program presented by PBS SoCal