Social Justice Leader Dolores Huerta/ Assembly Member Swanson Call for Support of No-Cost Solution to Shortage of Doctors in Underserved, Rural and Inner-City Communities

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
California`s Health Care Districts, which provide healthcare for many of
California`s medically underserved communities, are calling for exemption from
an unfair and outdated California statute that systematically denies medical
care to communities with high percentages of those in poverty and people of
color. AB 646 would correct this situation by allowing California`s 75 public
Health Care Districts to employ physicians to meet the needs of uninsured and
Medi-Cal patients who comprise much of their patient populations.

National social justice leader and co-founder with Cesar Chávez of the United
Farm Workers of America, Dolores Huerta, has called for passage of AB 646
(Swanson) - the only legislation that would provide an exemption from the hiring
ban for California Health Care Districts and provides a solution for the chronic
shortage of doctors in both California`s rural and inner city communities,
without affecting the state budget.

"Access to medical care is fundamental to empowering communities. Without it, I
have found that communities cannot sustain themselves and cycles of poverty and
low achievement continue. I urge our lawmakers to pass AB 646. Let the hospitals
and clinics that serve our poorest residents hire doctors they need to care for
the children, elderly and sick who have nowhere else to turn," said Huerta.

California is the only state in the country with a statute that bans hospitals
and other health care agencies from hiring physicians. While all public health
agencies, including those operated by the state and counties, are exempt from
the ban and today employ more than 3,000 doctors statewide, California`s public
Health Care Districts, serving predominantly low-income and minority
communities, are not exempt.

"For the last 50 years, we have faced institutional barriers in placing doctors
in underserved rural and urban areas. AB 646 is a sound solution that will
enable hospital districts to attract doctors to high need areas without any
impact on the state budget. This is a life-threatening problem with a relatively
simple, no-cost solution," said author of the bill, Assemblymember Sandré R.
Swanson (D-Alameda).

California`s Health Care Districts report difficulty recruiting physicians to
work in these rural and inner city areas where Medi-Cal is the primary payor.

"We cannot recruit physicians to work in these communities where they can`t make
a living, earning only cents on the dollar. Nor can we guarantee doctors stable
employment. We cannot even attract international medical graduates interested in
employment here as their visas require a minimum of three-year employment
contracts. The statue prohibits us from meeting that requirement," said Steven
Jacobs, Physician Recruiter, Kaweah Delta Health Care District, Visalia.

Most states allow for the employment of physicians by hospitals and other health
care facilities, and it is a common practice nationally. The American Medical
Association officially approves of direct physician employment as long as
non-physician employers do not interfere in medical decisions. California law
already protects against such interference.

California Health Care Districts - established after WWII to serve returning
military personnel - now operate public hospitals and clinics throughout the
state and, in many communities, provide the only access to healthcare within
hundreds of miles.

California Health Care Districts
Marika Rose, 916-601-9737
Susan Aronson, 916-212-8937

Copyright Business Wire 2009