Proposed state health reforms miss valley targets – report

FRESNO
June 29, 2007 10:25am

Health reform proposals being kicked around in Sacramento may not solve health problems besetting the Central Valley, a report says.

The Central Valley has a higher number of poor residents, higher unemployment rates, more unauthorized or undocumented residents than other counties or the state as a whole as well as higher rates of asthma and diabetes than any other region in the state, notes the report by the Central Valley Health Policy Institute at California State University, Fresno.

“This poses many challenges in providing health insurance that is accessible, affordable and efficient for all residents,” the report says.

In addition, the region has a lack of coordinated care and disease management programs due to health professional shortages, lower reimbursement rates, underfunding of public health services and a lack of long-term care facilities, it says.

“The issues that we’re raising are not just Central Valley issues, they apply to other … less-populous, less-urban areas that have different needs,” says John Capitman, executive director of the institute and co-author of the report.

For the region to address some of these complex issues, says the brief, “It’s important that we explore creative models for coverage of agricultural and undocumented workers.” Also important, says the report, is finding ways that Central Valley health career pipeline programs can continue to receive funding and to demonstrate a community-based long-term care model for the region.