SACRAMENTO—Co-chairs Assemblymembers Jim Wood, DDS (D-Healdsburg), and Joaquin Arambula, MD (D-Fresno), announce the fourth and fifth in a series of hearings of the Select Committee on Health Care Delivery Systems and Universal Coverage to be held February 5 and February 7 in Sacramento at the State Capitol, Room 4202 and will be televised on the California Channel at www.calchannel.com. The hearing on February 5 is scheduled to begin at 2:00 pm or upon adjournment of the Assembly Floor Session. The hearing on February 7 is scheduled to begin at 10:00 am. The final agendas, once confirmed, will be posted at the select committee’s website, http://healthcare.assembly.ca.gov/content/2017-2018-hearings.
The February 5 hearing will discuss some of the challenges to making significant changes to Californian’s health care system,” said Wood. “We will hear from experts on Prop 98 tax allocations, the Gann Limit, accessing the Medicare Trust Fund, ERISA and other federal law considerations.”
The February 7 hearing will provide an opportunity for a number of organizations to present their plans for achieving universal health coverage, including Health Access California, California Physicians Alliance, and the California Nurses Association. Labor and business organizations are scheduled to present as well.
“The next two hearings will provide us an opportunity to dig into the implementation challenges that we face in adopting a universal health care system,” said Arambula. “This committee’s charge is to find workable solutions that will expand health care coverage and increase access to care. We remain committed to that goal.”
“We continue our dedication to this important work,” said Wood. “Our goal has been to identify what is needed to bring all Californians affordable health care coverage and access,” said Wood. “Our actionable recommendations will be published in early spring, providing a roadmap to a health care system that works for everyone.”
The select committee was created in March by Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, with Wood and Arambula as co-chairs. Other committee members appointed include Assemblymembers Autumn Burke (D-Inglewood), David Chiu (D-San Francisco), Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale) and Marie Waldron (R-Escondido).
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