Union Officials: What’s Stopping Hospitals From Using Prop. 52 To Pad Executives’ Pay?
Although there is no active opposition to the measure, some are worried there’s no requirement that hospitals spend the money on health care for the poor.
KPBS:
Proposition 52: Critical For Medi-Cal Or Perks For Hospital Execs?
Proposition 52 on the November ballot has gotten little attention. Even so, supporters said the measure is crucial to hospitals’ ability to care for Medi-Cal patients. The measure asks voters to lock in a special fee that hospitals pay in order to ensure that California receives billions of dollars in federal matching funds. The state legislature initiated the fee in 2009. ... The Service Employees International Union–United Healthcare Workers West had planned to fight the measure. But it decided to put its resources elsewhere. Still, union officials complain there’s no requirement that hospitals spend the money on health care for the poor. (Goldberg, 10/24)
In other ballot news —
Los Angeles Times:
Vapers Beware: E-Cigarettes In Line For A Big Tax Increase If Proposition 56 Passes
Most of the attention on the Proposition 56 tobacco tax has focused on the potential $2-per-pack increase in the price of cigarettes. Less examined is a provision under which the booming e-cigarette market would be taxed in California for the first time – and the increase will be huge. E-cigarette liquid containing nicotine could be taxed at a rate as high as 67%, according to state estimates, an amount that an e-cigarette trade group believes would boost the price consumers pay for a typical 30-milliliter bottle to about $30 from around $20 today. (Dillon, 10/24)