Bill Text: CA AR53 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relative to National Health Center Week.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-08-20 - Read. Adopted. (Ayes 77. Noes 0. Page 6249.). [AR53 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AR53-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: HR 53	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Levine

                        AUGUST 6, 2014

   Relative to National Health Center Week.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
             HOUSE OR SENATE RESOLUTIONS DO NOT CONTAIN A DIGEST



   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 ability to pay, and they are
the medical homes for more than 22 million needy and uninsured
patients; 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 most geographically isolated communities; and
   WHEREAS, In California, more than five million low-income
families, children, seniors, women, non-English speakers, people of
color, and homeless individuals currently receive comprehensive
primary care services at nearly 1,000 community clinics and health
centers throughout the state; and
   WHEREAS, Primary care at California community clinics and health
centers involves a wide range of services, 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 to provide health care services to the state'
s most disadvantaged families and individuals, are at the forefront
in implementing the national Patient Protection and Affordable Care
Act, and are preparing to serve the over three million Californians
newly enrolled in Medi-Cal and Covered California under the act, as
well as the two to three million persons who will remain uninsured;
and
   WHEREAS, California's community clinics and health centers have
played a critical role in the outreach, education, and enrollment for
Covered California and Medi-Cal, accounting for 170 certified
enrollment entities and employing one in three certified enrollment
counselors in the state; and
   WHEREAS, California's community clinics and health centers account
for 55 percent of assisted Covered California and Medi-Cal
enrollments; 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, The federal government, many other states, and local
communities in all 50 states have observed and celebrated an annual
National Health Center Week for 30 years; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, That the
Assembly hereby joins in proclaiming the week of August 10 to August
16, 2014, 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.