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On September 27, 2018, photo Tangi Foster stands in front of the Northridge Dialysis Center where she receives dialysis in Northridge, California. A ballot paper limiting the benefits of dialysis clinics has taken precedence over rent control initiatives and rents taxes proposal this cycle. Foster, working with the union to promote Proposition 8. She stated that dialysis clinics prioritized benefits over patients and highlighted provider expenditures. lessOn September 27, 2018, photo Tangi Foster stands in front of the Northridge Dialysis Center where she receives dialysis in Northridge, California. A ballot vote limiting the profits of the dialysis clinics exceeded … more
Photo: Damian Dovarganes, AP
Photo: Damian Dovarganes, AP
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – A union-funded vote to limit the benefits of dialysis clinics was slowing down on Tuesday night.
With more than 3.5 million votes counted, this initiative won less than 40% of the vote.
The measure, Proposition 8, caps profits at 15% of clinic spending on patient care and quality improvement. According to the union, this measure would improve the quality of care provided by clinics. The dialysis companies that oppose it say that it would reduce patients' access to care.
The fight for this measure is the most expensive battle of the 2018 ballot, generating more than $ 130 million in campaign contributions. A health union, Service Employees International Union – United Healthcare Workers West, funded the $ 18-million campaign.
The union argues that proposal 8 will prevent dialysis companies from taking shortcuts and force them to invest more of their profits in patient care. They argue that profit-hungry companies overload their staff and fail to clean the clinics properly, which hurts patients.
The dialysis companies have paid more than $ 111 million to remove this measure, covering the airwaves with ads. This is the most that an American party has dropped since at least 2002 on a voting initiative in the United States. Most of this money comes from the two largest dialysis companies operating in California: DaVita Inc. in Colorado and Fresenius Medical Care in Germany.
They say the measure is a tactic to pressure dialysis companies to allow workers to unionize and force clinics to close. Most Californian clinics provide high quality care, opponents of the proposal argue 8.
Tens of thousands of patients are receiving dialysis treatment in California each month, according to the non-partisan office of legislative analysts. Dialysis patients generally undergo treatment for several hours three times a week, during which devices filter their blood, essentially performing kidney function outside the body.
The Office of the Legislative Analyst estimates that dialysis companies generate about $ 3 billion in annual revenue from their California operations.
Dialysis clinics say that critical management expenses will be considered as profits, which would bankrupt clinics. The union says dialysis companies are wrong and use the bankruptcy argument of clinics to scare voters.
The law does not specify exactly which expenses will be considered patient care and quality improvement and which will be classified as benefits. If the measure is passed, this decision will likely be made by the courts and law enforcement authorities of the state.
The measure is one of many health care issues listed on the ballot.
Proposal 4 would allocate $ 1.5 billion in bond funding to children's hospitals. If this money were approved, it would be used for construction, renovation, expansion and new equipment and would be repaid over time with interest. He was leading the first results with about 57% of the vote.
Proposal 11 would allow private ambulance companies to remain on call during paid breaks. He was largely winning Tuesday night with 63% of the votes cast in the early rounds.
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For full coverage of US mid-term elections by AP: http://apne.ws/APPolitics
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