Community leaders seek healthcare funds for LA county uninsured

As enrollment for the Affordable Care Act comes to an end in Los Angeles, about one million people in Los Angeles county still remain uninsured. Leaders of the city called upon the Board of Supervisors Tuesday morning to propose a plan for the uninsured.

The plan involves a reform of the program, Healthy Way L.A (HWLA), to a more patient-based and affordable plan, which the Los Angeles department of Health services calls, Healthy Way L.A 2.0. The program will be a preventative-based approach to getting coverage for those who don't qualify for Obamacare because of their income or immigration status.

According to the DHS, the new plan will provide membership cards to patients and assign them to local community clinics that will provide them with whole-person care. 

Among the some of the groups in attendance this morning were the SEIU-UHW, Health Access California, LA Voice, and the St. Thomas Apostle Catholic Church. 

Marlon Diaz, a Senior at Augustus Hawkins High School in South LA, attended the news conference to learn more about the reform initiative. He said although he is a citizen and is fully covered, his parents are footed outrageous bills when someone in his family has a health concern. 

"They don't have the same health benefits that I have... It's a heartbreaking thing to see," he said. "One time me and my sister were riding our scooters and she fell off and broke her hand... since she doesn't have health care, that was a fortune for my family to pay off, a fortune that we don't even have." 

Like Diaz's family, there are many across the county who are in similar situation. Several groups and leaders made it clear that one million people without health care could affect the whole county. 

"We will only be as healthy as the people that prepare our food, as the person next to you on a bs, or the person who cares for your children. If they're sick, we're sick," said Bruce Wellems of the San gabriel Mission. 

But before more funding goes into community clinic programs, which will house HWLA, the county needs to draw from funds which have been sunsetting since December. 

Critics of the proposal argue that programs as such drain county and state funds and encourage immigration. 

"The county of Los Angeles has created all kind of policies that make it clear that if you come and settle illegally, you are probably going to get rewarded for it," said Ira Mehlman, spokesperson for the Federation for American Immigration Reform. "This money comes out of the coppers of the county... and it means that other needs in the county and state go unmet."

Last year, the county allocated $55 million to HWLA, and an additional $11 million to community clinic expansion funds. 

While the debate over covering the uninsured will surely continue to go unsettled, the head of the DHS said they hope to launch the new program by September 1st.