Sacramento Bee Analyzes Advertisement in Favor of Measure To Fund Emergency Care
Statements included in a television advertisement supporting Proposition 67, a measure on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot to fund emergency services, are "technically correct" but are "missing some context," according to a Sacramento Bee analysis (Benson, Sacramento Bee, 10/29). If approved, Proposition 67 would raise about $550 million annually for hospitals statewide to help finance emergency departments, trauma centers and health clinics and pay for physician training and emergency medical equipment (California Healthline, 10/25). The ad began airing statewide Tuesday.
The ad, financed by the Coalition to Save Emergency Care, states that 65 EDs in California have closed, adding that "with more [EDs] closing all the time, we need Prop. 67."
According to the Bee, it "is under dispute" whether funds from Proposition 67 would prevent ED closures. The Bee reports that although 65 EDs have closed over more than a decade, "[o]ften, it was an entire hospital, not just an [ED], that shut down" (Sacramento Bee, 10/29).
Additional information about Proposition 67 is available online.