“Access to health care shouldn’t be political,” says Golden Valley CEO

As the realities of Elon Musk’s rampage through government agencies and services take hold, urgent warnings about threats to essential services like health care are growing. Republican Congressman David Valadeo has promised to vote against cuts to Medicaid, which would have devastating effects in his district in the southern San Joaquin Valley. Valadeo repeated his opposition to cuts only two days ago.

“My goal is not to do anything that damages Medicaid,” said Valadeo during an interview with Eyewitness News earlier this month. Almost two-thirds of residents in Valadeo’s district rely on Medicaid for essential health care services.

David Quackenbush, CEO of Golden Valley Health Centers, wrote a May 8 press release that amplified Valadeo’s concerns:

As the CEO of Golden Valley Health Centers, I am deeply concerned about the proposed cuts to Medicaid, known as Medi-Cal in California. We serve 165,000 low-income Medi-Cal patients annually and these reductions threaten the health of millions of families throughout the state. 

California’s Medi-Cal program covers 15 million people in the state, including veterans, seniors, people with disabilities, pregnant women, and working families, including half of all the state’s children. Thanks to Medi-Cal, patients have access to comprehensive, whole-person care at community health centers like Golden Valley Health Centers. We provide primary care, mental health and behavioral health services, dental care, optometry, and other specialty services. 

When patients have access to healthcare, especially preventative care, communities are healthier. Preventative medicine allows people to stop relying on emergency rooms for care. Routine prenatal care means fewer pregnancy complications and early detection means more affordable chronic disease management. 

If Congress cuts Medicaid, millions of Californians could lose access to critical care. Without access to care, patients would have no choice but to forgo preventative care, leading to more emergency room visits and increased costs for both patients and taxpayers. 

Access to health care shouldn’t be political, which is why I urge our Congressional representatives to stand up and fight for California’s patients.

Signed,
David Quackenbush 

Medi-Cal/Medicaid cuts would have severe repercussions throughout the Valley, yet few Republican Congressmembers other than Valadeo have spoken out against them. The scale of the proposed cuts is enormous.

For example, Valadeo’s district alone has 395,317 residents who rely on Medi-Cal/Medicaid. In the northern San Joaquin Valley, Josh Harder’s District 9 constituents include 244,759 on Medi-Cal/Medicaid. Tom McClintock’s 5^th District has 192,352 residents enrolled, while there are 326,585 in Adam Gray’s 13^th.

Instead of standing by during a chainsaw rampage through critical government programs and agencies, our representatives should be looking for waste and fraud through a careful process of informed review through all sectors of government, including defense. When Bill Clinton implemented the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act in 1996, he proposed cutting $500 billion over a period of five years, including cuts to defense spending. By the end of his term, the budget ran surpluses.

Valley workers in fields ranging from agriculture, food service, construction, and retail depend on Med-Cal/Medicaid for essential health services. So do their children. There’s no value and enormous cost, not just in dollars but to humanity itself, when we deny them fundamental health care services because they can’t afford today’s enormous medical bills.

Denying our work force and disabled citizens essential health care isn’t just wrong, it’s un-American.