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National Health Care District Law

Written by: Marc Boyd on Jun 22, 2009 3:00 AM EDT

 It's time for a Mandatory "California Style" Local Health Care District Law in the U.S.

 

One of the best features of state governments is that they are often the birthplace of our nation’s best policies. This is because our state officials are working on behalf of constituents with direct access. I think it is politically unwise for a member of Congress to propose a new domestic policy (like a health care co-op) that has not been successfully implemented and tested by a state government.

 

One successful policy developed at the state level -- that has yet to enter the national debate on health care -- is California’s response to injured WWII servicemen who returned to rural areas and were unable to find adequate health care. 

 

In 1945, the California legislature created the “Local Health Care District Law” that allowed communities throughout California the authority to create a “special district” with the ability to raise funds, elect governing officials, and provide needed medical services.

 

Today there are 78 Health Care Districts in California that are tailored to the needs of their local communities. Most of these districts operate hospitals, but some offer primary care clinics, and others manage specific treatment programs. Surprisingly, 3 new health care districts have been created in the Bay Area since 2000.

 

One of the original post WWII health care districts is the Mark Twain Health Care District in the Motherlode area of California. Today, the Mark Twain St Joseph's Hospital is jointly governed by the Mark Twain Health Care District and Catholic Healthcare West. In 2007, they provided nearly $8 million dollars in unsponsored care and programs to the Calaveras County community.

 

Another successful health care district in California is located in Mountain View, and it has operated The El Camino Hospital (ECH) since 1963. In 2003, ECH district voters overwhelmingly approved Measure D (71%) to provide $298 million for a new hospital.  The list of accomplishments and awards at ECH are so numerous that I’d suggest  a visit to their website.

 

Most Democrats in Congress contend that there cannot be a viable health care reform policy in America without a public-option plan. Meanwhile, Republicans are digging-in to defeat a single-payer system. 

 

My suggestion is to create a mandatory local health care district law, implemented by local boards and designed to serve the 45 million uninsured Americans. This would allow the private health care system the opportunity to eliminate waste, improve efficiencies, and meet their obligations. And a national health care district law could be partially funded by the savings President Obama recently outlined.

 

This plan would serve the Democratic Party's historic mission to bring fairness and equality to all Americans. It would also take the sting out of their critic's argument that the Democrats want to create a one-size-fits-all health care plan.

 

The health care districts would govern like school boards, and operate with the same advantage of being locally controlled. Elected trustees could come from the health care industry, and they would be required to reside within the district they represent. The local health care district board would work with existing service providers, and their mission would be to fill in the gaps in coverage within their community.

 

Other health care options that are now being discussed are non-profit medical co-ops, which has not been tested on a large scale; and state mandated insurance coverage that has been tried in five states without a great deal of success. 

 

A national health care district system may seem unwieldy, and would create a new government bureaucracy, but I would submit that the creation of the ”Local Health Care District Law” by the California Legislature ln 1945 was a landmark policy that is stronger than ever after  64 years of operation.

Marc Boyd

San Jose

Member of Dean Democratic Club of Silicon Valley

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