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Volume 6
Issue 47
February 3 - 9, 2010

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Measure A report provides good news about health care

From the Globe News Desk

Construction of a new school-based health center and a new detox/sobering station. Enhancements to emergency medical service delivery. Over $8 million in federal, state and private foundation matching and leveraged funds.

The latest report about Measure A health care spending in Alameda County is filled with good news. The report contains descriptions of enhanced services, expanded outreach and upgraded facilities, funded in part by the 2004 Measure A sales tax increase passed by Alameda County voters.

Measure A, the Essential Health Care Services Initiative, raised the county sales tax by one-half cent to support emergency medical, hospital inpatient, outpatient, public health, mental health and substance abuse services for indigent, low-income, and uninsured county residents. Measure A generated over $115 million in the 2007-2008 fiscal year.

Measure A also created a Citizen Oversight Committee that monitors Measure A spending for each fiscal year. In October 2009, the committee published its third report, covering Measure A spending for fiscal year 2007-2008. Highlights from the report include the following:

Measure A funding helped the Alameda County Medical Center stabilize its financial condition, reduce triage and medical appointment wait times, and establish the Healthy Hearts Clinic, Primary Care Health Coach Program and Rapid Evaluation Accelerated Care at Triage (REACT) Program.
The school-based health centers in Alameda County used Measure A funds to increase clinic visits, first-aid and medical visits and mental health visits from year to year. The funding enabled the opening of new clinics and expansion of services across clinics, including implementation of a data collection computer system.
With help from Measure A, St. Rose implemented a diagnostic radiology picture archiving system and served nearly 14,000 children annually in the Silva Pediatric Clinic. Children’s Hospital and Research Center in Oakland doubled the number of visits to its adolescent clinics, expanded its medical and mental health services to victims of abuse and domestic violence, and continued to provide surgical implants to address hearing loss in children.
Many emergency room and on-call physicians receive partial or no payment for emergency services they provide to indigent and uninsured patients. Measure A funds helped bridge the payment gap for physicians performing these services.
Measure A funded a 50-bed sobering station and a 32-bed detoxification facility. In addition to meeting a pressing need, the facilities promote savings for police, fire and emergency departments through significant reductions in demand for their services.
Member clinics receiving Measure A funds have provided almost 82,000 clinic visits to medically indigent patients, 11.5 percent more than required under the Measure A contract. For every $1 the county provides to consortium clinics, other revenue sources have provided $10 to the clinics.

“In a time where our county is grappling with both economic and health care-related stresses, it is wonderful to see the real benefits that Measure A is bringing to so many,” said Beth Pollard, chair of the Oversight Committee. “The fact that voters have opened their pockets to help the uninsured, low income and indigent in Alameda County speaks volumes about the values of our community.”

The full report contains additional information, such as a complete list of all providers receiving Measure A funds, the amounts received by each provider, descriptions of the services offered by Measure A recipients, and maps showing the geographic distribution of Measure A fund recipients, indicating the spread of services throughout Alameda County.

For a free copy of the report, visit www.acgov.org/health, call (510) 667-7994 or email Linda.Truong@acgov.org.