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Statewide Health Care, Community and Business Leaders Criticize Governor's Use of Medi-Cal Patients and the Poor As Bargaining Chips in California Rx Proposal

Posted on: Thursday, 24 August 2006, 15:00 CDT

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Health care, community and business leaders from throughout California today blasted Gov. Schwarzenegger's prescription drug proposal, warning that the plan uses the state's most vulnerable population as a bargaining chip in political negotiations and threatens to increase existing health disparities and restricts access to medications for some of California's poorest and sickest patients, according to the Latino Community Diabetes Council of Los Angeles

If the Governor's plan is enacted, these leaders warned, many Californians will be left without access to their much-needed medicines or forced to substitute their current drugs for older and potentially less-effective medications.

"We need to voice the other side of the story, the side that always forgets the poor and most vulnerable," said Angela Gilliard, legislative advocate for the Western Center on Law and Poverty. We're here to oppose the "Medi-Cal Hammer," in the Governor's plan, which may result in the removal of critical and important medicines from the Medi-Cal program.

"If the Legislature and Governor think the hammer is such a great idea for reigning in pharmaceutical costs, and if they insist it won't have an adverse impact on the poor," Ms. Gilliard added, "then why don't they apply the hammer to the state's public retirement system?"

"This plan is holding the Medi-Cal population's access to care hostage to another population's access to care," said Anthony Brown, of Healthy African American Families. "Half of our clients are uninsured, and half are on public programs. These bills ask us to decide which population is more deserving. That's not a choice we can make. This program will have a disastrous impact on all Medi-Cal patients, especially those in the African-American and Latino communities."

Maria Castellanos, of the Latino Community Diabetes Council of Los Angeles, warned that the Governor's plan "will not only remove the medicines that the majority of our families depend on every day, but it will further the existing health disparities gap in our communities. We cannot continue to victimize the victims."

Gary Puckrein, Executive Director of the National Minority Health Month Foundation, said: "Representing various multi-cultural medical associations, I have great concerns about any program that attempts to interfere with the treatment selection process by denying access to certain medication that doctors prescribe for their patients."

"The focus should be on saving lives," he added, "not contributing to the health gap."

Also participating in today's news conference were: Kate McGarvey, National Health Law Center Maria Luisa Vela, Los Angeles Metro Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Sandy Cajas, CEO of the Regional (Long Beach, Wilmington, San Pedro area) Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Randall Maxey, MD, PhD., President , Alliance of Minority Medical Associations

The following organizations oppose the Governor's prescription drug proposal:

Alliance of Minority Medical Associations Alzheimer's Aid Society American Chronic Pain Association American Russian Medical Association Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America, Southern California Chapter California Black Health Network California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce Depression and Bipolar Support alliance of California Healthy African American Families Huntington's Disease Society of America Latino Community Diabetes Council of Los Angeles Los Angeles Metro Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Maternal Child Health Access Multicultural Health Policy Consortium National Alliance for Mentally Ill California (NAMI California) National Association of Cancer Patients National Health Law Center National Minority Health Month Foundation Neuropathy Action Foundation Project Inform Protection & Advocacy, Inc. Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce San Diego Black Health Associates The California Coalition For Mental Health (CCMH) The Mental Health Association In California (MHAC) Western Center on Law and Poverty

Latino Community Diabetes Council of Los Angeles

CONTACT: Kayleen Maya-Aviles of Latino Community Diabetes Council of LosAngeles, cell, +1-818-326-7857

Source: PRNewswire

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