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For more than five decades, Axis Community Health has been part of the Tri-Valley’s healthcare safety net. Since 1972, we have welcomed patients regardless of their income, insurance coverage or immigration status.
Through recessions, a pandemic and other difficult periods, Axis has continuously served our community. Today, our 275 dedicated professionals care for more than 15,700 patients in Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin and nearby communities. We provide primary care, behavioral health services, dental care and other essential support for people who have few other options.
That work is now at risk because of Proposition 44, a statewide ballot measure that would impose strict new spending requirements on Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) such as Axis. The measure is presented as a way to protect patients and healthcare workers, but its practical effect would be fewer services for the patients who rely on us.
That is why we are urging Tri-Valley voters to vote No on Proposition 44 this November.
Community health centers like Axis are already operating under enormous pressure. Federal Medicaid cuts and state funding reductions are forcing difficult decisions just as insurance changes are bringing more people to us for care. We continue to serve the community with fewer resources because it is our mission. Proposition 44 would make that much harder.
The measure would require health centers to spend at least 90% of total revenue on a narrowly defined set of expenses. Clinics that fall short could face steep financial penalties. Statewide, the requirement could redirect more than $1.7 billion away from the services and operations that support patient care.
A 90% spending requirement for patient care may sound reasonable. The problem is what the measure would leave out.
The calculation would exclude many of the people, tools and facilities needed to operate a safe and effective clinic. That could include nursing managers and physician leaders, information technology staff who protect patient records, and the workers who keep clinics clean and open.
It could also exclude telehealth systems, interpretation services, staff training, medical imaging equipment, clinic rent and outreach staff who help people enroll in Medicaid and other safety-net resources.
These expenses may not take place inside an examination room, but they make every patient visit possible. Treating them as unrelated to patient care ignores how healthcare delivery actually works. FQHC expenditures are already closely audited under federal law, and many of the services Proposition 44 targets are part of federal care-delivery requirements.
For patients in the Tri-Valley, the consequences could be immediate: fewer medical appointments, less access to mental and behavioral health services, reduced support for people managing chronic illnesses and cuts to dental care.
When a community clinic reduces services or closes, patients cannot always find another provider.
A parent may postpone a child’s dental visit. A senior may miss an appointment to manage diabetes. A pregnant patient may go without prenatal care. These are not distant possibilities. They affect our neighbors, co-workers, and families. They also strain our emergency care system when untreated conditions become emergencies.
Tri-Valley voters should look closely at what Proposition 44 would require and what it would mean for Axis and the 15,700 people who depend on us for care.
This November, you can protect access to healthcare in the Tri-Valley by voting No on Proposition 44.
Editor’s note: Liz Perez-Howe is the CEO of Axis Community Health, the Tri-Valley’s Federally Qualified Health Center, which has served the community since 1972.
