2018 Midterms Election Update
On November 6th, voters from across the nation and state had the opportunity to express their voice at the ballot box.
In the California Governor’s race, Gavin Newsom beat John Cox overwhelmingly.Advocates endorsed Gavin Newsom in his race for Governor and are looking forward to working with the new administration to advance the health and wellbeing for all people in California.
Thank You to CaliforniaHealth+ Advocates Donors!
Just over a year ago, in October 2017, the CaliforniaHealth+ Advocates Board voted to begin engaging politically by endorsing candidates in State Assembly and State Senate legislative electoral races. Participating directly in the political process allows Advocates an additional opportunity to advance the interests of community health centers and their patients.
Health centers’ position in the community affords them the opportunity to be the catalyst for a dramatic increase in civic engagement through legal, permissible, nonpartisan voter engagement activities including training and educating staff on the importance of registration, voter registration, voter education, and get-out-the-vote (GOTV) campaigns.
Immigration Update
After months and months of speculation, the proposed public charge regulation was officially published in the Federal Register on October 10, 2018. CaliforniaHealth+ Advocates has, for nearly a year, been working in close partnership with our other immigration allies to defend against any changes to the “public charge” definition.
State Legislative Update
2018 End of Session State Legislative Update
After four terms and 16 years in the Governor’s office, a governorship that spanned over three decades (1975 to 2018) and considered nearly 20,000 bills, this September Governor Jerry Brown made his final mark on state legislation. As many reflect on the last year of his storied career, some felt he fell short on health care. This year, in particular, consumer advocates were disappointed to see a deferral of action on coverage expansion. While Advocates was disappointed too, there is a positive story to be told. As outlined below, a variety of health-related bills, including health center priority bills, were signed.