Press Release

August 15, 2022

In Case You Missed It: Santa Rosa Press Democrat and Southern California News Group Oppose Prop 29

For immediate release: August 15, 2022

Contact: Kathy Fairbanks (916) 813-1010

They call Prop 29 “medically unnecessary,” an “abuse,” and “exploiting the initiative process.”

Sacramento – The Santa Rosa Press Democrat and the 11 papers that make up the Southern California News Group told voters to reject Proposition 29 in recent editorials. Both objected to the repeated abuse of the ballot system by Prop 29 backers and said the measure would be harmful to dialysis patients.

Prop 29 on the November 2022 California ballot will jeopardize access to care, worsen our health care provider shortage and increase health care costs for all Californians. It is opposed by a broad coalition of patients, doctors, nurses, veterans, seniors, community groups, and business and taxpayer groups.

Excerpts from the Southern California News Group:

• “ a cynical attack on dialysis clinics”
• “Didn’t we just do this? We did. And, yes, it’s absurd.”
• “There is no medical reason for this request. There is zero evidence that California dialysis clinics are unsafe. To the contrary, they are literally life-savers. This is another ploy by one union, SEIU-UHW West, which has made a practice of harassing clinics around the nation because its leadership wants more power over how such clinics are run.”
• “This is the third time Californians have faced essentially identical ballot measures on this issue since 2018, sponsored by UHW, targeting dialysis providers.”
• “Perhaps there ought instead to be a law, based on the theory of no double jeopardy, against bringing to the voters the same issue over and over after being so roundly rejected.”
• “Voters, let’s up the ante and oppose the measure in even greater numbers this time around – a 70% number would be nice – in hopes of not seeing it come before us again. Vote No on Prop 29 this November.”

Excerpts from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat:

• “Just say no to attack on dialysis care.”
• “… would impose medically unnecessary staffing requirements on California dialysis clinics.”
• “This is, as we said in 2018 and again in 2020, an abuse of the initiative process.”
• “Voters soundly rejected the first two initiatives, and they would be wise to say no once again.”
• “… we believe an initiative is the wrong way to regulate a specialized medical procedure that literally is a matter of life and death for people suffering from serious kidney disease. Without advanced medical knowledge, even the most diligent voter would be hard-pressed to determine the best approach to delivering kidney dialysis.”
• “Imposing that requirement would add several hundred thousand dollars a year in new costs, which could result in higher rates for patients and insurers or clinic closures, according to California’s nonpartisan legislative analyst.”
• “In baseball, it’s three strikes and you’re out. Those rules don’t apply to ballot measures, but California voters can send a clear message about exploiting the initiative process by saying no to Proposition 29.”

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat and Orange County Register, Riverside Press-Enterprise, Long Beach Press-Telegram, Pasadena Star-News, Whittier Daily News, San Bernardino Sun, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Los Angeles Daily News, Torrance Daily Breeze, Redlands Daily Facts, and the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin join the San Jose Mercury News and the East Bay Times, urging voters to reject Prop 29 in recent editorials.

Background:

Prop 29 is opposed by the California Medical Association, American Nurses Association\California, patients, and many others because it would jeopardize the lives of dialysis patients by forcing hundreds of dialysis clinics to cut back services or shut down – making it more difficult for dialysis patients to access their life-saving treatments.

Prop 29 would make the state’s current health care provider shortage and emergency room overcrowding even worse, while unnecessarily increasing health care costs for taxpayers and consumers by hundreds of millions of dollars every year.

There are approximately 80,000 dialysis patients in California with failed kidneys who need dialysis machines to clean their blood and remove toxins from their bodies. Patients must receive dialysis treatment three times a week for four hours at a time to stay alive. Access to consistent dialysis treatments is so important that just one missed treatment increases patients’ risk of death by 30%.

Prop 29 is sponsored by the United Healthcare Workers West (UHW) union – the same organization that abused California’s initiative process in 2018 with Proposition 8 and in 2020 with Prop. Now, this special interest is at it again with Prop 29.

Please visit No on Prop 29 for more information.