SEIU Blocks Bad CNA Bill That Would Outsource, Restrict Health Care Coverage for California Kids

SEIU has successfully blocked legislation proposed by the California Nurses Association (CNA) that would have eliminated up to 9,000 county eligibility worker jobs throughout California to the private firm Maximus, put county hospitals at risk by enrolling childless adults into Medi-Cal managed care using forprofit HMO’s like Blue Cross, covered only citizen or legal resident children and weakened existing law on simplifying Medi-Cal/Healthy Families.

Senators Alquist, Cedillo, Seinberg and Kuehl demanded as a condition of their aye votes on SB 1459 (Yee) - or the "Cal-
Health Act" - that the bill proposed by CNA be amended to meet SEIU objections to provide the following protections:
• Assure that no county workers lose their jobs as a result of SB 1459
• Assure that county eligibility jobs stay with the county
• Hold county hospitals harmless and provide backfill if any reduction in funding occurs
• Cover all children, regardless of immigration status
• Reconcile the Medi-Cal/Healthy Families streamlining and simplification provisions with those in other measures, including SB32 / AB1, the bills sponsored by the 100% Campaign and supported by SEIU.

Had the SEIU State Council not had the political clout that it does, this bill would have been detrimental to County workers. The CNA bill would have cost our County jobs, and health care for children and adults alike would have suffered.
You can always count on SEIU to put nurses first and workers first.
Carmen Morales-Board, RN, MSN, FNP-C
Kern Medical Center
SEIU Representative to the
State Board of Registered Nurses
SEIU Local 521 Executive Board Member

DID YOU KNOW?
SEIU is also currently working to ensure safe staffing levels at all hospitals through its safe staffing study. Nurses from across California are being asked to join the effort to evaluate and improve California’s staffing ratio law. Beginning in
June 2008, the SEIU nurse staffing ratio study will be the first nurse-led, field-based, comprehensive study of California’s mandatory staffing ratios passed by the legislature in 1999.

For information on how SB 1459 could affect Kern County services, contact Ernest Harris at SEIU Local 521: (661) 321-4169 or Ernest.harris@seiu521.org.