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For thousands of Californians suffering from kidney failure, this choice is literally a matter of life and death. Proposition 8 is a dangerous measure that puts the lives of patients at risk.
Kidney disease is an epidemic among Latinos in California. According to statistics from the National Kidney Foundation, Latinos are 1.5 times more likely to suffer from kidney failure than the rest of the population.
A dangerous move on California's November ballot threatens access to essential medical care for thousands of Latin American patients with kidney failure. Proposal 8 could result in the closure of dialysis clinics in the state, affecting more communities with fewer resources. And because Latinos are disproportionately affected by kidney disease, they are more likely to be injured if Proposition 8 is approved.
In the past six years, I have worked as a renal dialysis nurse in a Salinas clinic. We serve a predominantly low-income Hispanic population, many of whom travel up to 80 miles per day to receive the dialysis treatment they need to save their lives. The vast majority of our patients also suffer from diabetes, severe hypertension or other serious illnesses. In addition to needing a vital dialysis treatment, these patients need quality care that helps them control their disease so that they can lead a normal life as much as possible.
Proposition 8 threatens the well-being of my patients and nearly 80,000 Californians with kidney failure. It would be impossible for clinics such as ours, which mainly treat low-income patients, to cover their costs, resulting in clinics closing down. This would force our patients to travel further for their dialysis treatments, which they need three times a week, three to four hours at a time. Proposal 8 will prevent patients from receiving the medical treatments they need to keep them alive.
I would also send more patients to our hospitals, which are already full and where it costs a lot more to provide the same care as in a dialysis clinic. The reality is that if proposal 8 is approved and it becomes more difficult to find a dialysis clinic with available treatment chairs, many patients will simply lose their treatments, which would increase the risk of death by 30% and put their lives in danger. .
If you do not know anyone on dialysis, you may think that this measure will not affect you. But it's going to affect him. The higher cost of medical care for patients traveling to hospital emergency rooms will make medical care more expensive in general. Medicare costs will increase, those of Medi-Cal will increase and these increases will be transferred to everyone.
For thousands of Californians suffering from kidney failure, this choice is literally a matter of life and death. That is why the National Hispanic Medical Association, the California Medical Association, the American Nurses Association California, emergency room physicians and more than 150 organizations in California oppose proposal 8. Proposal 8 is a measure dangerous that endangers the lives of patients. Californians must vote no at 8 am to protect patients on dialysis and limit health care costs.
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