ACTION ALERT! Join Women and Communities United to Save California's Safety Net!

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Women of color organizations across California have united to fight to preserve vital health and human services that are being threatened with cuts and/or elimination by the Governor and Legislature.

We need YOU to send a clear message to California's Leadership to take our communities' concerns into consideration as they negotiate the 2008-09 State Budget by signing on to the attached letter. 

Your voice matters!!! 

Please join allies throughout the state and sign-on to the letter below by Friday, July  18, 2008.  This is your opportunity to make your voice heard and urge our Leaders to pass a fair and balanced budget that will not burden our most vulnerable communities!

Take action NOW!

Send an email with the information below by July 18th to:

Adrienne Bausley 
California Black Women's Health Project 
adrienne@cabwhp.org

Yes!  I/My Organization agree to join Women and Communities United to Save California's Safety Net, and sign-on to the attached letter.  I have noted my contact information below:

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Are you endorsing the letter as an individual? Yes/No

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(list organization as you would like it to be stated on the letter if applicable)

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Thanks so much for your support!

Sincerely, 
 
Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice 
Black Women for Wellness  
California Black Women's Health Project  
California Latinas for Reproductive Justice 
Vision y Compromiso

SIGN-ON LETTER CONTINUES BELOW 

  HEALTH & JUSTICE NOW!

Women and Communities United to Save California's Safety Net

July __, 2008 

Dear {Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger; Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata; Speaker of the Assembly Karen Bass; Senate Minority Leader Dave Cogdill; Assembly Minority Leader Michael Villines}: 

The undersigned organizations and individuals write to reject the Governor's proposed 2008-09 Budget because it will cause significant and irreparable harm to California's most vulnerable communities.  We respectfully urge you to preserve vital safety net programs and explore alternative sources of revenue in order to protect the health and lives of low-income women of color, immigrant women and their families. 

The proposed cuts to Health and Human Services disproportionately hurt women of color and their families. 
While the need to pass a balanced budget is pressing, the proposed cuts in health and human services represent a significant blow to women and communities of color for whom safety net services represent a vital source of care and survival.  Over 70% of Medi-Cal recipients are people of color and seven out of ten Medi-Cal participants are women.  Communities of color also comprise over three quarters of those receiving CalWORKS grants, the majority of whom are women.  The proposed cuts will lead to additional suffering, hunger and homelessness among California's most vulnerable families and represent a major step back in addressing existing health disparities and social inequities. 

The proposed budget reductions across state departments effectively "cut" vulnerable families multiple times. 
Because the proposed reductions in funding target various safety net programs, we are extremely concerned about the budget's compounding impact on low-income families.  For example, of the 6.6 million Medi-Cal beneficiaries, approximately 1.17 million participate in CalWORKS and another 1.23 million are enrolled in the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Program (SSI/SSP).  These cuts would unfairly harm low-income families whom rely on multiple services for their survival.   

The proposed cuts to health services will increase the uninsured and exacerbate reproductive health disparities. 
The Governor's proposed cuts to health programs and services nullify the most recent work the state has invested in reforming our health care system and will increase the number of uninsured individuals in California.  Women of color are disproportionately represented among the over 6 million uninsured Californians:  Twenty-two percent (22.1%) of Latina, 9.1% African-American, and 12.2% Asian women of all ages are uninsured compared to 6.4% White of women. 

Lack of access to health care is reflected in significant reproductive health disparities among women of color.  For example:

  • Cancer has been the number one killer of Asian American women since 1980.  The incidence of breast cancer for Asian American women is increasing at a faster rate than for white women. For some subgroups, such as Filipino Americans and Japanese Americans, the leading cause of cancer death is breast cancer.

  • African-American women have the highest rates of infant and maternal mortality. In Los Angeles County, the African-American infant mortality rate is 11.7 per 1000 live births. That is more than double compared to their White counterparts (5.0 per 1000 live births).  Maternal mortality is 60.3 per 100,000, compared to 10 for White, 13.7 for Latinas, and 18.1 for Asian and Pacific Islander women.

  • Latinas have the highest risk of developing cervical cancer and represent one-third of invasive cervical cancer cases in the state each year.  While Latinas have a lower overall incidence of breast cancer, it is the leading cause of cancer death among Latinas.  This is primarily due to the fact that Latinas are often diagnosed at a later stage, which increases the likelihood of death from cancer and decreases the ability to treat the cancer at an earlier stage.

These alarming health disparities experienced by women of color would be exacerbated by any cuts to current health services programs. 

Reductions to Medi-Cal reimbursement rates will further limit access to health service providers. 
The 10% reduction in Medi-Cal reimbursement rates will further erode access for Medi-Cal beneficiaries as fewer providers will be willing or able to participate in the program.  California already has one of the lowest reimbursement rates and provider participation rates in the nation.  A reduction in the number of health care providers could vastly jeopardize the health of women of color by increasing barriers to accessing preventive care, particularly for immigrant and limited English proficient (LEP) women.  Among women of color, 45% of Latina and 68% of Asian and Pacific Islander women are foreign-born.  Although language access services for LEP populations is mandated by law, too many individuals are prevented from accessing health care because of the lack of translation services.  With fewer Medi-Cal providers, access to these important language services will severely worsen.  Furthermore, reduced provider reimbursements may force some providers to forego providing translation services altogether due to their own budget constraints. 

Medi-Cal covers essential women's health services, including pregnancy-related care. 
Because Medi-Cal covers a significant percentage of pregnancy-related services, paying for 4 out of 10 births born in California, the proposed cuts would severely impact low-income women's access to vitally needed reproductive health care.  The proposed quarterly certification requirements for Medi-Cal enrollees also represent a significant barrier to promoting healthy pregnancies, as women may lose benefits in the midst of pre-natal care.  Monthly application requirements for undocumented immigrants in need of emergency medical care also will impede access to basic services. 

Teen pregnancy prevention programs vitally support positive sexual health outcomes among youth of color. 
The proposed cuts to teen pregnancy prevention programs will exacerbate the limited access to comprehensive, medically accurate sexual health information and services low-income youth of color already experience.  These programs are vital to promoting young people's health and opportunities.  We are currently on the brink of a sexually transmitted infections epidemic, especially among young women.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that one in four teenage girls and nearly half of African-American young women in the United States have a sexually transmitted disease (STD).  The Public Health Institute reports that California youth acquire more than one million new sexually transmitted infection (STI) cases annually.   

Safety Net programs leverage federal matching funds and prevent costly health conditions. 
In addition to the suffering the budget proposal will inflict on low-income women of color, immigrant women and their families, these short-sighted cuts will not solve our budget crisis and will lead to greater expense in the long-term.  Several of the programs being cut leverage valuable federal funds.  For example, Medi-Cal and Healthy Families represent less than one-seventh (13.7 percent) of the state budget, yet they bring in nearly two-fifths (38.5 percent) of the federal funds that support state spending.  California will effectively lose one federal dollar for every general fund dollar "saved" by the proposed Medi-Cal cuts.  For family planning services, California will lose $9 for every dollar "saved" by the state.   In an economy where every dollar counts, a decision to forgo income from the federal government is unwise.  The loss of access to preventive care also will result in costlier emergency treatment at a time when such services are increasingly being eliminated within low-income communities of color.    

California can do better to protect the health and safety of its people. 
Our state has one of the largest economies in the world, ranking 8th if California were its own nation.  It is imperative that we pass a state budget that considers the health and welfare of its low-income workers, educates its children, provides for its sick and assists its most vulnerable residents.  California needs healthy women and families to create vibrant communities.  Our state budget priorities need to reflect that promise. 

While some of the most damaging proposals targeting low-income families that were included in the Governor's January Budget Proposal and the May Revise have been rejected by the Legislative Committees, we strongly urge you to ensure that these proposals remain off the table.  In light of a slowing economy where low-income and working families' sustainability is already threatened by the rising costs of living, it would be inhumane to cripple and/or eliminate the health and social services that serve as lifelines for California's most vulnerable families.  Accordingly, we respectfully urge you to preserve vital safety net programs and seek out alternative sources of revenue in order to pass a fair and balanced budget that that will strengthen California's communities.   

Please do not hesitate to contact Marisol Franco at California Latinas for Reproductive Justice (at marisol.clrj@gmail.com or 213.626.2179) if you have any questions, or if we may serve as a resource in any way. 

Sincerely,

[NAMES OF ORGANIZATIONS & INDIVIDUALS]