Editorials Address Ballot Measure To Fund Children’s Hospitals

Two newspapers recently published editorials addressing Proposition 61, a measure on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot that would provide $750 million for construction, expansion and equipment for children's hospitals. Including interest, the initiative would cost about $1.5 billion over 30 years (California Healthline, 9/27). Summaries appear below.

• Fresno Bee: Although Proposition 61 would increase the state debt, "investing in our health care infrastructure is a wise use of public funds" because "delaying treatment only becomes more costly for taxpayers," a Bee editorial states. The Bee recommends that state residents vote "yes" on Proposition 61 (Fresno Bee, 9/22).
  
  
• Orange County Register: There is a "larger philosophical question of how much government should be involved in medicine and health care," a Register editorial states, adding that the "more government, ... the more expensive, bureaucratized and politicized health care becomes." The Register recommends that state residents vote "no" on Proposition 61 because the state budget is "still in crisis" and the state should not take on "new obligations" (Orange County Register, 9/22).