Emergency Medical Services. Funding.
Telephone Surcharge. Initiative
Constitutional Amendment and Statute.
·
Provides funding to physicians for uncompensated emergency care,
hospitals for emergency services, community clinics for uncompensated care,
emergency personnel training/ equipment, and emergency telephone system
improvements.
·
Funded by addition of 3% to existing surcharge rate on telephone
use within
·
Limits surcharge collected by residential telephone service providers
to 50 cents per month. Monthly cap does not apply to cell phones or business
lines.
·
Excludes funding from government appropriations limitations, and
telephone surcharge from Proposition 98’s school spending requirements.
Summary of Legislative Analyst’s Estimate of
·
Increased state revenues of about $500 million annually from an
increased surcharge on telephone bills that would be used (1) to reimburse
physicians and hospitals for uncompensated emergency medical care and (2) for
other specified purposes. This amount would probably grow in future years.
·
Continued funding of about $32 million annually in Proposition
99 tobacco tax funds to reimburse physicians and community clinics for
uncompensated medical services.
Firefighters, paramedics, doctors, and nurses
agree that passage of Prop. 67 is essential to maintain emergency medical care
in California
Every day thousands of Californians are victims of heart attacks, strokes, car
accidents, and other medical emergencies. For many, rapid response emergency
treatment by a paramedic, doctor, or nurse is the difference between life and
death.
YES on Prop. 67 will make sure that rapid response emergency medical care is
available when you and your family need it most.
The Problem:
We are facing a crisis in emergency care. According to government reports,
there are 64 fewer hospital emergency rooms and trauma centers available for
patients in
If an emergency room closes near your home, place of work, or along the routes
you drive, the time it takes for an ambulance to get you to a doctor could
double, triple, or worse. In an emergency, every second is critical.
Emergency rooms throughout
The Solution:
A YES vote on Prop. 67 will provide needed funds to help:
• Keep hospital emergency rooms, trauma centers, and health clinics open and
operational
• Prevent long lines and wait times at local emergency rooms
• Attract and retain highly skilled physicians, nurses, and medical staff at
our local emergency rooms and trauma centers
• Provide critical emergency medical equipment and technology
• Support local health clinics that treat non-emergency patients and preserve
our emergency rooms for real emergencies
• Equip and train firefighters and paramedics who are often the first to
respond and provide medical care in emergencies
• Upgrade our 911 emergency telephone system
Safeguards to ensure funds are properly spent:
Prop. 67 funds emergency medical care with a modest increase
to the existing surcharge on telephone use for the 911 system. Prop. 67
caps the amount a phone company can bill residential telephone customers for
the new surcharge at 50 cents per month. The new surcharge does not apply to
out-of-state long distance calls, and senior citizens and others on basic
lifeline phone rates are completely exempt from the additional cost.
For just pennies each month we can preserve emergency care for
You never know when you will need a paramedic, emergency room doctor or nurse.
YES on Prop. 67 will make sure that emergency medical care is available when
you and your family need it most.
SAVE EMERGENCY CARE. SAVE LIVES.
Please join firefighters, paramedics, doctors, nurses, and patients in voting
YES on Prop. 67.
For more information, visit www.saveemergencycare.org
DARLENE BRADLEY, RN, President
California Emergency Nurses Association
MICHAEL J. SEXTON, M.D., President-elect
California Medical Association
CARMELA CASTELLANO, Chief Executive Officer
California Primary Care Association
Rebuttal to Argument
in Favor of Proposition 67
Respected health care advocates, the Congress of
California Seniors, the California Sheriffs’ Association, and the emergency
care workers who run the 911 system all OPPOSE PROP. 67 because 90% of the
funds go to large health care corporations and other special interests, which
means:
• No new emergency rooms or trauma centers.
• No money to upgrade existing emergency
rooms.
• No provisions to reduce emergency
response times. LESS THAN 1% OF THE MONEY GOES TO THE 911
EMERGENCY SYSTEM.
Prop. 67 is a $540 MILLION PHONE TAX—another
MISLEADING attempt to give taxpayer money to special interests. READ THE FINE
PRINT—and see how misleading it is:
• Supporters claim it’s “a modest increase” in phone taxes —but it actually
INCREASES YOUR PHONE TAXES BY 400%
• Supporters claim that seniors are exempt, but more than 1 MILLION SENIOR
CITIZENS will be affected.
• Supporters claim the tax rates are capped, but there are NO CAPS ON CELL
PHONE OR SMALL BUSINESS PHONE TAXES.
Prop. 67 DOES NOT PROVIDE HEALTH INSURANCE to any of the millions of
Californians who do not have any. It gives millions to health corporations, but
DOES NOTHING TO REDUCE PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS OR HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS.
And because there are NO MANDATORY AUDITS OR FINANCIAL CONTROLS, there’s potential for waste and fraud.
Prop 67 won’t solve
Say NO to the PHONE TAX. Vote NO on 67.
ANGELA MORA, Founder
Office of the Patient Advocate
ROBERT T. DOYLE,
DR. CHARLES J. SUPPLE, M.D.
Argument Against Proposition 67
Prop 67 is really a phone tax—a $540 MILLION
TAX INCREASE that will likely increase in the future.
If Prop. 67 passes, we will get HIGHER TAXES, but that’s only part of the
story:
1) It’s a 400% TAX INCREASE that consumers would have to pay every year
2) NO CAP ON CELL PHONE TAXES—the more you talk, the more taxes you’ll pay.
3) NO CAP ON SMALL BUSINESS PHONE TAXES.
4) More than 1 million seniors, many of whom live on fixed incomes, will be
affected by the phone tax.
LESS THAN 1% OF THE MONEY FROM PROP. 67 WILL GO TO THE 911 SYSTEM. This
initiative is a scam. The
THERE ARE NO ADEQUATE FINANCIAL CONTROLS OR AUDITS. Even though this is a
massive half-billion-dollar tax increase, it contains no mandatory financial
audits to make sure the money is spent properly. In addition to the potential
for waste and fraud, Prop 67 will require millions of dollars per year in
ongoing administrative costs that the state cannot afford.
THIS INITIATIVE IS MISLEADING.
90% of the money goes directly to special interest groups.
READ THE FINE PRINT, HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL FIND OUT:
1) This is really a $540 million phone tax increase;
2) No cap on cell phone;
3) No cap on small businesses;
4) More than 1 million seniors will be forced to pay higher taxes;
5) No mandatory financial audits;
6) California’s sheriffs and 911 emergency dispatchers oppose the measure
because it is misleading and doesn’t do what it says it does.
Listen to what respected voices across
•
• The California Taxpayer’ Association & Howard Jarvis Taxpayers
Association oppose Prop. 67 because it’s a 400% ($540 million per year) phone
tax increase.
• The California Chamber of Commerce says it will hurt our economy and drive
businesses from our state.
• The Congress of California Seniors opposes it because it will force seniors
living on fixed incomes to pay higher taxes.
• The California State Sheriffs’ Association says Prop. 67 doesn’t
do what it promises to do.
VOTE NO ON THE PHONE TAX.
L.W. “CHIP” YARBOROUGH, President
The
H.L. “HANK” LACAYO, President
Congress of
LARRY MCCARTHY, President
California Taxpayers’ Association
Rebuttal to Argument Against Proposition 67
Before voting on Prop 67, ask yourself:
Who do you trust to protect quality emergency healthcare for you and you
family? Firefighters, paramedics, doctors and nurses OR phone companies?
Out-of-state phone companies and cell phone companies are bankrolling the
campaign to defeat Prop 67 and deny essential funding for emergency services.
According to the Secretary of State, the top 5 contributors to the campaign
against Prop 67 are:
1. SBC (
2. Verizon (
3. T-Mobile (
4. AT&T Wireless (Washington)
5. Sprint (
The opponents of Prop 67 use misleading statistics and scare tactics. Prop 67
is a modest and sensible initiative that firefighters, paramedics, doctors, and
nurses agree will save lives.
HERE ARE THE FACTS:
FACT: Prop 67 caps the surcharge a phone company can add to residential
telephone bills at 50 cents per month —a maximum of $6 per year.
FACT: The cost to cell phone users is minimal—If you
pay $30 a month, Prop. 67 will cost you 90 cents.
FACT: Prop 67 completely exempts senior citizens on basic lifeline phone
service—they will not pay a dime.
FACT: Prop 67 provides for audits to ensure funds are properly spent and
prohibits the Legislature and phone companies from raiding these funds.
Voters have a clear choice: watch our emergency medical care system unravel OR
vote YES ON PROP 67 to ensure victims of heart attacks, strokes, car accidents
and other emergencies receive life-saving emergency care.
SAVE EMERGENCY CARE. SAVE LIVES. YES ON PROP 67.
LOU STONE, Vice President
California Professional Firefighters
RAMON JOHNSON, M.D., Past Chair
California Emergency Medical Services
Commission
PAUL KIVELA, M.D., President
California Chapter of the American College
of Emergency Physicians
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