Bill Text: CA ACR119 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Chaptered

California Assembly Concurrent Resolution 119 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: National Health Center Week.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 48-20)

Status: (Passed) 2017-09-21 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Res. Chapter 168, Statutes of 2017. [ACR119 Detail]

Download: California-2017-ACR119-Chaptered.html

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 119

CHAPTER 168

Relative to National Health Center Week.

[ Filed with Secretary of State September 21, 2017. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

ACR 119, Rubio. National Health Center Week.

This measure would proclaim the week of August 13, 2017, to August 19, 2017, inclusive, as National Health Center Week in California.

Fiscal Committee: NO

WHEREAS, Community clinics and health centers are at the core of the nation’s health care safety net, serving anyone and everyone who walks through their doors, regardless of their ability to pay, and are the medical homes for more than 25 million people in 9,800 rural and urban communities across the nation; and

WHEREAS, According to multiple government, academic, and private studies, community clinics and health centers have proven to be the most cost-effective health care providers in the field, saving nearly $24 billion annually by keeping patients out of costlier health care settings, such as emergency rooms; and

WHEREAS, Community clinics and health centers are private, nonprofit corporations. The majority of their boards of directors, by law, must be their patients and consumers, and their services are funded primarily through public programs, such as Medicaid, federal grants, and state initiatives; and

WHEREAS, Community clinics and health centers in California and throughout the nation have led the movement for a fair and equitable health care system, treating medically underserved populations in medically underserved areas by reaching into the inner city and the most rural and geographically isolated communities; and

WHEREAS, In California, more than 6.2 million low-income families, children, seniors, women, non-English speakers, people of color, and homeless individuals currently receive comprehensive primary care services at nearly 1,200 community clinics and health centers throughout the state; and

WHEREAS, California community clinics and health centers contribute directly and indirectly to more than 58,000 jobs that help to provide a wide range of services to patients, including preventive care, chronic disease management, well child, dental, pharmaceutical, immunization, mental health, substance abuse, breast cancer, nutrition, family planning, and pregnancy-related services, all of which are provided with particular sensitivity to language and cultural competency; and

WHEREAS, California’s community clinics and health centers have the major responsibility of providing health care services to the state’s most disadvantaged families and individuals, and community health centers are the primary care provider to more than 54 percent of the Medicaid beneficiaries in California who gained coverage under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), and more than one-third of Californians are Medicaid beneficiaries; and

WHEREAS, The Medicaid expansion has proven to be one of the most important aspects of the PPACA, providing comprehensive coverage to some of the most chronically ill people who have no other health care options; and

WHEREAS, In many rural communities throughout California, community health centers serve as the only source of medical and wellness care for middle- and working-class families in the region; and

WHEREAS, California’s and the nation’s community clinics and health centers deserve to be recognized and acknowledged for their valuable services to their communities and the state, their cost-effective delivery of primary health care services to the most vulnerable populations, and their leadership in working for fair and equitable health care reform; and

WHEREAS, National Health Center Week offers the opportunity to recognize America’s health centers, their dedicated staff and board members, and all those responsible for the continued success and growth of the program since its creation over 50 years ago. During National Health Center Week, the legacy of America’s health centers and their vital role in shaping the future of America’s health care system is celebrated; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature joins in proclaiming the week of August 13, 2017, to August 19, 2017, inclusive, as National Health Center Week in California; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.