BILL ANALYSIS �
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Date of Hearing: April 2, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
K.H. "Katcho" Achadjian, Chair
ACR 110 (Fox) - As Introduced: February 21, 2014
SUBJECT : Health Care District Month.
SUMMARY : Resolves that the California Legislature proclaims the
month of May 2014 as Health Care District Month in California
and recognizes the essential role that health care districts
have in the State of California. Specifically, this bill :
1)Resolves that the Legislature recognizes the essential role
that health care districts have in the State of California and
proclaims the month of May 2014 as Health Care District Month
in California.
2)Makes a number of findings about the history of health care
districts, the services provided by health care districts, and
the areas and populations served by healthcare districts.
EXISTING LAW establishes the Local Health Care District Law
which authorizes communities to form special districts to
construct and operate hospitals and other healthcare facilities
to meet local needs.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of this bill . This bill resolves that the Legislature
recognizes the essential role that health care districts have
in the State of California and proclaims the month of May 2014
as Health Care District Month in California. This bill is
sponsored by the Association of California Healthcare
Districts.
2)Author's statement . According to the author, "The purpose of
this resolution is to recognize the essential role that health
care districts have in the communities they serve and in
California as a whole. Annually, health care districts
provide services in 40 counties, employ over 32,000 employees,
and handle more than 4,000,000 patient visits. In 2012,
health care districts treated a little over 1 million Medi-Cal
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Beneficiaries, which is 10 percent of the statewide total of
Medi-Cal beneficiaries. This resolution will serve to educate
the public on the necessary and critical services health care
districts provide and their place in today's healthcare
climate."
3)Health care districts. Near the end of World War II,
California faced a severe shortage of hospital beds. To
respond to the inadequacy of acute care services in the
non-urban areas of the state, the Legislature enacted the
Local Hospital District Law, with the intent to give rural,
low income areas without ready access to hospital facilities a
source of tax dollars that could be used to construct and
operate community hospitals and health care institutions, and,
in medically underserved areas, to recruit physicians and
support their practices.
The Local Hospital District Law (now called the Local Health
Care District Law) allowed communities to create a new
governmental entity independent of local and county
jurisdictions that had the power to impose property taxes,
enter into contracts, purchase property, exercise the power of
eminent domain, issue debt, and hire staff. In general, the
process of creating a hospital district started with citizens
in a community identifying the need for improved access to
medical care. The hospital district's boundaries were usually
based on the distance between communities and the closest
available acute care hospital services. A petition for
formation was then filed by the community to the county board
of supervisors, and then residents of the proposed district
were needed to vote in favor of the measure to create the
hospital district. In 1963, the Knox Nisbet Act was passed,
which created Local Agency Formation Commissions and clarified
and formalized the process for establishing a hospital
district.
There are currently 78 districts, 41 health care districts
currently operate 43 hospitals, of which 28 are rural, and 20
are critical access. Health care districts provide a variety
of services and provide acute care, emergency care, skilled
nursing and long term care facilities, ambulance services,
rural clinics, adult day care, chronic disease management,
nutritional support, medical transportation, home health,
hospice, community education classes, and community grants.
These institutions provide a significant portion of the
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medical care to minority populations and the uninsured in
medically underserved regions of the state and are mainly
funded by Medicare, Medi-Cal, and district tax dollars.
4)Arguments in support . Supporters argue that this resolution
is important to educate Californians on the critical
importance of health care districts throughout the State.
5)Arguments in opposition . None
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Association of California Healthcare Districts [SPONSOR]
California Special Districts Association
Coalinga Hospital District
Eastern Plumas Health Care District
Fallbrook Healthcare District
John C. Fremont Healthcare District
Los Medanos Community Healthcare District
Mayers Memorial Hospital District
Petaluma Healthcare District
Sequoia Healthcare District
Southern Mono Healthcare District
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Misa Yokoi-Shelton / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958