Residents can continue to post and vote on questions at this link as well.
The Los Altos Town Crier is continuing to publish responses to questions that have been developed by the sponsors, which include:
American Association of University Women-Mountain View & Los Altos Area, Center for Age Friendly Excellence, GreenTown Los Altos, League of Women Voters of the Los Altos-Mountain View Area, Los Altos-2020, Los Altos Community Foundation, Los Altos Education Association, Los Altos Forward, Los Altos Town Crier, Los Altos Women’s Caucus.
featured image created by Coolcaesar at the English language Wikipedia [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons and cropped
Our local league conducted an annual “legislative interview” with Assemblyman Richard Gordon, 24th District, on March 13, 2014.
QUESTION 1: Money in Politics
Introduction:
Californians are increasingly dismayed by the flow of money into campaigns at all levels of politics. They are even more alarmed about the fact that for many large donations there is no way to identify the original contributors. Innocuous committee names no longer fool them.
In particular, the League strongly supports SB 27 (Correa) to prevent nonprofits from contributing large sums in California elections without disclosure. We are cosponsors of SB 2 (Lieu), which will improve slate mailer disclosure, require “Stand by Your Ad” in state elections, and strengthen enforcement.
Question:
Bills to require disclosure of the sources of all contributions in California campaigns and to make campaign disclosure more transparent and user-friendly in general will come before the Assembly
and Senate early in 2014. Will you help see that effective measures are passed in the Assembly/Senate to help voters know who’s funding campaigns?
Assemblyman Gordon absolutely supports SB 27. His bill, AB 800, passed the Assembly on March 10th. AB 800 helps strengthen the Fair Political Practices Commission in investigating and auditing organizations making large campaign donations. These two bills would have helped us avoid the “dark money” from an NPO in Arizona during the 2012 election. Gordon co-authored and was the floor jockey for SB 27. These bills will provide greater transparency to the electoral process. Gordon expects there are enough votes to pass SB 27 in the Senate on March 17th. The Governor would like to sign both SB 27 and AB 800 at the same time. [GM1]
QUESTION 2: Education
The LCFF (Local Control Funding Formula) is rolling out over the next few years. Implementation strategies are being drafted and there will inevitably be some adjustments. What do you see as the ongoing role of the legislature? Are there programs you feel should remain categorical? Are there areas you deem as off limits for spending supplemental and concentration funds?
Assemblyman Gordon is a strong supporter of the local control funding formula. It assures local school boards the ability to set priorities for their own funding. It sets the path for additional funding, specifically targeting the achievement gap. Gordon believes that for too long we have underfunded education. Gordon would like to be able to provide education with more funding. The LCFF also eliminates the previously complex funding of most categorical areas, except for a few “sacred cows.” What more should the Legislature do? Not much. Leave it to the districts and school boards for now.
When asked about Transitional Kindergarten, Gordon feels it should be funded moving forward. However, he does have some concerns with the current proposals. Overall the current state education budget does not provide enough funds for K-12 education, in addition to expanding the TK program. The move to universal TK has several challenges, such as insufficient facilities in many districts and an insufficient number of properly credentialed teachers. Also there are many home-based child care programs that provide families with needed income but these caregivers may not be properly credentialed for TK and this will produce an economic hardship. Then there is the question of how districts would contract out TK programs and services. Gordon doesn’t foresee any legislation on the expansion of TK to be enacted this year.
QUESTION #3. California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
Do you think specific projects should be exempted from parts or all of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process, or have special rules set for them? If so, how would you determine which projects should receive such treatment?
Gordon believes that land use projects should be subject to CEQA reviews. The issue with the current CEQA is that it opens the door too easily for groups to file law suits to block or delay a development project, claiming an environmental issue that may or may not be valid while attempting to leverage a non-environmental consession.
QUESTION # 4 – Other issues
What other major issues do you think the legislature must deal with in 2014? What are your personal priorities?
Gordon feels water is the major issue for 2014. California’s primary storage is the snow pack in the Sierra Nevadas. We have inadequate water storage across the state and no way to capture both run-off and rain fall. Gordon is part of a group working on a multi-billion dollar water bond for the November 2014 ballot. A key way this bond is different from the Governor’s is that it would leave out the construction of tunnels under the delta. Further ways to alleviate California’s water shortage are to promote reuse and recycling of water. Some groups are looking into desalination. Overall with the current drought, this fall’s election is a good time to take water issues to the voters.
He is also very interested in and concerned about sea level rise. He is holding a forum on this subject in July at Moffatt Field in Mountain View. He is carrying legislation (AB 2516) that will create a centralized data base of information on how California is preparing for, and adapting to, sea level rise. He is also in favor of incentivizing regional planning efforts around this issue.
Another legislative priority is community/school-based gardens. At this time school kids are not allowed to eat the produce they grow in their school gardens as the produce has not been inspected. Other groups such as farmers’ markets have found ways to self inspect and certify produce; AB 1990 would allow these same techniques to be used for community and school based gardens as well.
The Affordable Care Act – the current cap for out of pocket medical expenses is fixed at about $6,000 a year. For persons with chronic illnesses such as cancer or HIV that have high medication costs, this cap can be reached in the first month. Through AB 1917, Gordon suggests an extended payoff plan whereby payments could be spread out over the entire year.
Gordon is chair of the Rules Committee.
[GM1]SB 27 failed in the Senate on Monday, March 17 just one vote shy of the required 2/3 threshold.
Dorathea Grimes-Farrow, local league member, with Tomi Ryba, CEO ECH, March 2014 LWL luncheon
The Affordable Care Act* has raised questions about how it affects our local El Camino Hospital and all hospitals and how it affects each of us individually.We turned to Tomi Ryba, President and Chief Executive Officer for El Camino Hospital, to get some answers. Ms. Ryba has served as CEO since October 5, 2011. Before joining El Camino Hospital, she served as President of United Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Senior Vice President of Allina Hospitals & Clinics.
Tomi Ryba was also our keynote speaker at the February Lunch with the League event where she shared her perspective and answered questions about the Affordable Care Act for the standing room only audience.
In a follow up interview, Ms. Ryba addressed key questions about the Affordable Care Act and how it affects our hospitals and individuals. The full interview can be found on our website Here is her perspective:
Question 1
Should we expect new arrangements between insurers, doctors and hospitals? For instance, will patients have fewer/more choices in doctors, clinics and hospitals?
Answer: It’s too early to know how the Affordable Care Act will change the way people access care at El Camino or other hospitals. We will continue to collect and analyze many sources of data to help us understand what our patients need now, and what they will likely need in the coming years. The majority of our patients at El Camino Hospital are covered by Medicare or private insurance plans, usually through an employer, and that isn’t likely to change. The expansion of MediCal and the availability of insurance through the Covered California exchange is a great thing for people in our community who were previously uninsured, unable to afford health coverage, or were denied insurance due to preexisting conditions. El Camino remains an in-network hospital in most insurance plans offered through CoveredCA, and of course we accept Medicare and MediCal.1 There have been concerns about narrow provider networks in some areas of the state, but consumers have a good number of choices here in Santa Clara County. El Camino Hospital is focused on providing the highest quality continuum of care throughout the lives of our patients and their families, and so we collaborate closely with organizations like the Palo Alto Medical Foundation and with independent physicians. For example, we have an innovative program, which has reduced our hospital readmission rate to the lowest in the Bay Area that¹s an important indicator of the quality of post-hospital follow-up care and patient education. And we¹re working with schools, community nonprofits and city governments to improve physical and mental wellness and the use of preventive services.
Question 2
Are there enough primary care doctors to accommodate a sharp increase in newly insured?
Answer: No, this is a concern on the national level. We need to train more primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other health care workers, and we need to improve access to care in rural areas and in community clinics. Locally, the situation is mixed. Some organizations are reporting no difficulty hiring highly qualified primary care doctors while others, especially community clinics, have unfilled positions. While there are many excellent physicians in private or small group practice in our community, it is unfortunately increasingly difficult for physicians to afford to remain independent.
Question 3
With more people insured, should we expect changes in availability of wellness and prevention appointments?
Answer: It¹s early in health care reform, and we aren’t sure yet how people will change their habits. We hope there is more usage of prevention appointments and wellness services‹we want to keep you out of the hospital, and we can improve the quality of life of folks with chronic illness when they see a doctor regularly. Many providers have anticipated and planned for an increase in wellness and preventative services, since all health care plans are now required to cover such services under the Affordable Care Act. El Camino Hospital will continue to be here for the most complex care—for surgery and trauma, for management of serious illness, and we happily deliver more babies than any hospital in the county. But it¹s essential that everyone have good primary care so you have better options than an emergency room when your toddler has an ear infection or you have the flu.
Question 4
Will El Camino Hospital emergency room remain available to the uninsured?
Answer: By law, every hospital must provide emergency care to anyone who needs it. El Camino Hospital provides state-of-the-art emergency care to anyone who needs our help, regardless of his or her insurance status. If you don’t have health coverage, we’ll do our best to help you get covered so that you have access to medical care that fits your needs. El Camino also provides significant financial support to community clinics like RotaCare, located on our Mountain View campus. Staffed on a volunteer basis by many of the finest physicians in our community, RotaCare provides a wide variety of services to those who are uninsured or underinsured.
Question 5
Does El Camino Hospital have a role in educating the community about the Affordable Care Act, or incenting the uninsured to sign up?
Answer: Yes. El Camino has used, and will continue to use, every method at our disposal to inform people about the Affordable Care Act and new health coverage options, including hosting events for healthcare providers and businesses, presentations for community groups, and by providing information through our newsletters, magazine, websites and social media. We recently hosted a Covered California enrollment event where anyone from the public could stop by, get their questions answered, find out if they are eligible for free or low cost insurance, and enroll themselves and their families in health coverage that fits their needs.
Question 6
How would you complete the following statement? “A CEO’s view: The State of healthcare in the El Camino Healthcare District is….”
Answer: We have truly world class medical and hospital care available to us here—we’re very lucky. However, we must recognize that in this ³Valley of Plenty² there are a substantial number of hard working, low income people who don’t get the health care they and their children need. El Camino Healthcare District last year provided nearly six million dollars in community benefit funds to help meet those needs, and El Camino Hospital spent over fifty million dollars on community benefit programs and uncompensated medical care. Together, we can meet the challenges of preventing disease, supporting wellness at each stage of life, and helping every member of our community access medical care that meets the highest standards of excellence.
*On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed comprehensive health care reform, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, into law. ObamaCare, the unofficial name for this far-reaching program, has several goals including offering people new benefits, rights, and protections regarding their healthcare and establishes a Health Insurance Marketplace where consumers can purchase federally regulated and subsidized health care insurance.
