In a push for healthcare that doesn't break the bank, Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer has come out swinging with a plan to upgrade the ailing Medi-Cal system, which serves as a health lifeline for nearly a million San Diego County residents, including around 325,000 kids. Lawson-Remer's crackdown targets shoddy reimbursement rates for the Medicaid program in California, aiming to give the healthcare quality and accessibility in the region a much-needed shot in the arm.
At the heart of Lawson-Remer's strategy there’s a direct challenge to the ongoing issue of low Medi-Cal reimbursement rates, which for too long, have been a thorn in the side of San Diegans trying to seek care leading to a dry spell of healthcare professionals, and herding more locals into emergency rooms, a problem that not only jams up the healthcare system, but also affects every last one of us in San Diego.
With the stance that adequate healthcare should be an inalienable right rather than a privilege that's hard to come by, Lawson-Remer stated, "We must deliver on the pledge of Medi-Cal and ensure that access to healthcare is not a privilege limited by circumstances, but a fundamental right upheld for all," according to a statement on her official website. The Supervisor, who also serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of Supervisors, is gearing up to bring this proposal to the table at the Board of Supervisors meeting slated for March 12, 2024, at 9:00 a.m.
Tackling prescription drug prices head-on Lawson-Remer's proposal also includes a plan to take the County to task over the sky-high costs of medicine, pushing for actionable steps to curb spending for both Medi-Cal and Medicare beneficiaries. On the back of a revealing report by the American Hospital Association, hospitals are getting the short end of the stick, being paid merely 88 cents for every dollar shelled out on Medicaid patients in 2020, landing hospitals in a nearly $25 billion pit of underpayment, and putting California's reimbursement rates dangerously close to the bottom nationwide.
