Friends, I don’t usually write about ballot measures until closer to the vote, but this one hits close to home. I’m asking you to join me in voting No on Prop 44.
As many of you know, I serve as Board Chair of Gardner Health Services(as a volunteer), a community health center here in San José that sees over 40,000 patients a year. Prop 44 is a direct attack on clinics like Gardner, and on the millions of Californians who depend on them. That’s exactly why I’m voting No on Prop 44, and why I think you should too.
Why Vote No on Prop 44
Here’s the deal: Prop 44 would cut $1.7 billion from community health centers and clinics in its first year alone. That’s not my number, it’s from an independent study by the Berkeley Research Group, and it found that 88% of clinics would end up with negative operating margins if this measure passes. Clinics that serve 1 in 4 Medi-Cal patients, plus the uninsured, working families, seniors, veterans, and LGBTQ+ folks, regardless of their ability to pay, would be forced to cut services or close their doors entirely.
A Poorly Written Measure That Threatens Clinic Staff and Services
What makes Prop 44 worse is how badly it’s drafted. It excludes funding for things clinics can’t operate without: nursing managers, physician leaders, translation services, patient transportation, and IT staff, even the buildings themselves. It blocks funding to renovate or build new clinics, which also threatens union construction jobs. This isn’t a technical oversight. It’s a poorly written measure that guts the basics of running a clinic.
Kids Lose Too: School-Based Health Centers at Risk
And it’s not just adult care. School-based health centers, over 400 of them statewide, serving campuses where about 70% of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, would lose funding too. That’s why the California Teachers Association, the California School Nurses Organization, and the California School-Based Health Alliance have all joined the opposition to Prop 44.
Prop 44 Adds No Real Accountability
Community health centers are already among the most heavily regulated organizations in the state. They’re nonprofits, a majority of their boards must be patients themselves, and they’re already subject to strict state and federal audits. Prop 44 doesn’t add accountability. It just cuts off the money that keeps the doors open, all while special interests use the ballot process to gain leverage in contract negotiations.
A Broad Coalition Says No on Prop 44
The coalition opposing Prop 44 is broad: the California Medical Association, California Hospital Association, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, California Primary Care Association, and many more, including the patients and healthcare workers who will feel this measure first.
Vote No on Prop 44
Please join me and vote No on Prop 44. Got Questions? Contact me.
Bill Roth