Los Angeles County is weighing a new half-cent sales tax that could decide whether thousands of residents keep seeing a doctor or start lining up in crowded emergency rooms.
This week, a coalition of clinics, unions and patient advocates urged the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to put a five-year, half-cent sales tax measure on the June ballot to fill gaps created by federal Medi-Cal cuts. The group, Restore Healthcare for Angelenos, says the money would bankroll a local coverage program that pays for primary care, emergency services and behavioral health for people who lose Medi-Cal. Supervisor Holly Mitchell's office has already introduced a motion, and the county faces a March 6 deadline to place a board-sponsored measure on the June ballot.
According to LAist, the coalition estimates the half-cent tax would generate about $1 billion a year, dedicated to a local coverage program for residents who fall off Medi-Cal. Mitchell has said the proposal includes public oversight, regular audits, and a hard end date of Oct. 1, 2031.
What's At Stake
As reported by CalMatters, the federal spending plan H.R. 1 includes new work-and-community-engagement rules, shorter renewal windows, and other changes that state officials warn could cost California tens of billions of dollars and threaten statewide health coverage. State health officials estimate roughly 2 million Californians could lose Medi-Cal over the next several years, a shift that county advocates say would send more patients to already busy emergency rooms and put additional pressure on community clinics.
How Other Counties Have Responded
Los Angeles is not the first county to look local for a financial safety net. The Santa Clara County press office reports that voters there approved a five-eighths-cent sales tax, Measure A, last November. That tax is expected to pull in about $330 million a year for local hospitals and clinics, after supporters argued that homegrown revenue was needed to keep safety-net services afloat as federal funding shrinks.
The Statewide Debate
While Los Angeles County debates a sales tax, unions at the state level have championed a very different fix: a one-time 5 percent tax on the wealth of California billionaires to replace lost federal Medicaid dollars, a proposal covered by the AP. Gov. Gavin Newsom has signaled he opposes the billionaire tax, and some advocates contend that local and statewide strategies could work together rather than compete, according to CalMatters.
What Happens Next
The Board of Supervisors is expected to take up Mitchell's motion next month. If supervisors decide not to place the measure on the June ballot, the coalition says it will pivot to a signature-gathering campaign to qualify an initiative for November, per LAist. Either path sets up a high-stakes decision for voters on whether a temporary sales tax is worth keeping clinics and hospitals funded as federal support recedes.
