Press Release

October 10, 2022

In Case You Missed It: Three more editorial boards oppose Prop 29

For immediate release: October 7, 2022

Contact: Kathy Fairbanks, (916) 813-1010

In Case You Missed It:

“Vote no on Prop. 29, a dangerous union power play that could kill kidney dialysis patients” – San Diego Union-Tribune

Sacramento –The San Diego Union Tribune, La Opinión, and the Santa Cruz Sentinel are the most recent California statewide newspapers urging readers to reject Proposition 29 on the November ballot.

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.

Highlights from the San Diego Union Tribune include:

·       “Vote no on Prop. 29, a dangerous union power play that could kill kidney dialysis patients”

·       “… few, if any, ballot measures have abused the system as much as the initiatives targeting dialysis clinic rules put before voters after signature-gathering campaigns by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) in 2018, 2020 and again in 2022.”

·       “Meanwhile, the Legislative Analyst’s Office says the requirement would sharply increase clinic costs, which could lead to clinic closures — which would be dangerous for kidney patients in remote areas.”

·       The rule would also damage health care overall in California by exacerbating the state’s acute shortage of health care workers.

·       “We shouldn’t  have to keep voting on dialysis. Why are we?”

·        The union thinks if it forces the companies to spend around $100 million every two years to defend the status quo, they will stop opposing unionization. That this tactic could kill people is apparently of no concern. .”

Excerpts from the La Opinión editorial include:

·       “The same proposal, with a different number, was rejected by most voters in 2018 and again in 2020.”

·       “In no other state is the physical presence of a doctor required during dialysis. The state Department of Public Health does not ask for it. Neither does the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).”

·       “It’s because it’s unnecessary and counterproductive….In the middle are the patients.”

·       “Those that will close provide services to the poorest and rural residents. The patients are mostly Latino, who along with African Americans suffer more than other high blood pressure groups and diabetes, a history of liver disease.”

·       “…the new doctor or nurse who should be present if the proposal is approved will not be able to participate in dialysis,…It will only have the administrative role of contemplating and observing.”

·       “…Proposition 29, under different numbers, was a bad idea in 2018 and 2020. And it still is today.”

Santa Cruz Sentinel’s editorial weighed in, as well:

·       “For the third time in five years, leaders of a large labor union are asking voters to approve unnecessary regulations for the kidney dialysis industry that would make it harder for patients to receive critical care.”

·       “What’s really behind these attempts is the SEIU using the state initiative system as a form of political blackmail meant to force the leading kidney dialysis firms to eventually cave to demands to unionize clinic workers.”

The San Diego Union Tribune, La Opinión, Santa Cruz Sentinel join the Bakersfield Californian, Fresno Bee, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Marin Independent Journal, San Jose Mercury News,  East Bay Times, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, 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 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.