The measure is sponsored by one of the state’s major health worker unions, SEIU United Health Care Workers West. The union says Prop. 44 will help ensure clinics are spending more on patient care and less on executive pay.
If the prop passes, certain low income clinics would be required to spend 90% of their revenue on “program services.” Clinics that don’t would be subject to penalties.
The measure directs the attorney general to publish guidance on what qualifies as program services, but many clinics worry that it’s not already spelled out in the proposition.
Dr. Maximiliano Cuevas leads the Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas in Monterey County.
“The number one cost is our staff, the next cost is the buildings that you're in,” Cuevas said. He worries that if the measure passes, the clinic could get fined for those expenses.
