PROP 8
PROPOSITION 8 — KIDNEY DIALYSIS
A YES vote here requires kidney dialysis clinics (DaVita operates 50% of the ones in California) to refund any money they collect that adds up to more than 115% of the cost of patient care and healthcare improvements. The money would go back to whomever paid it: the patients themselves, or their health insurance providers.
The measure would also prohibit dialysis clinics from discriminating based on the patient’s provider.
Offending clinics would be fined if they do not issue refunds 210 days after the end of the fiscal year in question.
This proposition was placed on the ballot by petition signatures.
Questions.
Q. Can health care providers discriminate based on the patient’s provider right now?
A. I guess they can! Let’s fix THAT.
Q. What’s really going on here?
A. The YES camp is led by an association advocating for kidney patients, and the SEIU. They raised $17.4M as of the end of July, almost all of it raised by the SEIU. CalPERS and the California Workers Federation supports YES.
The NO camp is bankrolled by the dialysis clinics to the tune of $47.2M. Supporting their position is the California Nurses Association, and the California Medical Association.
Both sides seem to agree that what’s really going on here is that the clinics have acted to prevent their workers from unionizing. In the past unions like the SEIU have proposed ballot initiatives as a bargaining chip: give us what we want or we will push this ballot initiative. Obviously this time that didn’t work.
Since 2014, five different California ballot propositions attempting to reform health care have been defeated after opponents seriously outraised proponents. We might be headed for a repeat of that here.
“Both sides seem to agree that what’s really going on here is that the clinics have acted to prevent their workers from unionizing. ”
Q. What about kidney patients? Is this good for them?
The NO camp insists kidney patients will be devastated. Why does it always seem that if the owners can’t sit on golden toilets, patients must die? Just asking.
My take, if you care:
Although I will always remain deeply suspicious of health care insurers and providers and their for-profit motives, that doesn’t mean this is a good idea. So many ballot propositions seem to be trying to do things that should be entrusted to the legislature. That is one of the arguments made by the four newspaper editorial boards that have come out against Prop 8, including the San Francisco Chronicle, the Sacramento Bee, the San Jose Mercury News, and the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
I want those workers unionized. This doesn’t do that, and its effects are too uncertain to put dialysis patients’ lives at risk.
#NoOn8 #Prop8
