Alameda County Committee To Consider New Tax To Cover Health Care Costs
A committee of health care advocates, union representatives and clinic and hospital administrators will meet early next month to discuss a proposed tax to cover health care costs in Alameda County, the Oakland Tribune reports. Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, who has led the effort, also plans to poll voters to determine whether they would support a parcel or sales tax to fund county health care programs. Joe DeVries, Miley's field director, said that a one-half cent sales tax would raise about an additional $90 million in revenue each year, and a $100 parcel tax would raise an additional $40 million in revenue each year. Miley said that the committee has not decided whether the tax would fund the Alemeda County Medical Center, which provides care for a large number of indigent and uninsured patients; private hospitals; community clinics; or county "capital or operational costs." Miley added that voters may not support a tax increase. "We need something that will play through the entire county. ... There are so many people going without health care. We'd like to see if we can come up with some model," he said (Horowitz, Oakland Tribune, 8/10).
This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.