While other states try to undermine Roe v. Wade, the Governor’s budget proposes $100 million to expand access to reproductive and sexual health care in California
SAN DIEGO – On the final stop of his statewide “California for All” health care tour, Governor Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom rallied with San Diego legislators, Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest, patients and local advocates in support of reproductive health and freedom. While the White House and states like Alabama attack reproductive health care, Governor Newsom highlighted his historic $100 million budget proposal to invest in reproductive and sexual health care in California.
“While men in legislatures across the country are telling women what they can and can’t do with their bodies, California is taking the exact opposite approach,” said Governor Newsom. “We aren’t just protecting reproductive freedom – we are seeking to greatly expand access to reproductive and sexual health care here in the state.”
Governor Newsom was joined today by San Diego Assemblyembers Todd Gloria, Shirley Weber and Lorena Gonzalez. At the event, Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest President and CEO Darrah DiGiorgio Johnson discussed the organization’s efforts to expand reproductive health care throughout Riverside, San Diego and Imperial counties. Planned Parenthood patient Eboney Stewart shared how doctors helped her identify fibroids on her uterus and provided necessary surgery.
Governor Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Seibel Newsom rally with local Assemblymembers, Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest and reproductive health advocates at the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) headquarters in San Diego
On his first day in office, Governor Newsom proposed a series of first-in-the-nation actions to make health care more affordable for all Californians and move the state closer toward achieving the goal of health care for all.
A little over a week after he released his revised budget that advances these priorities, Governor Newsom has taken his proposals on the road as part of the statewide “California for All” health care tour. Governor Newsom launched the tour Tuesday in Sacramento and has traveled across the state this week hosting events that highlight how the health care initiatives in his budget proposal would help families meet their health care challenges. Each event focused on one of the proposals in his health care package and the tour has hosted events in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento and ending today in San Diego.
Governor Newsom’s health care proposals are a central pillar of his broader “California for All” agenda. The Governor believes that the California Dream should be accessible to everyone – not just a privileged few, and the crushing crisis of affordability and rising cost of living are limiting families’ ability to get ahead.
Recent data shows that health care and prescription drugs are chief among those concerns for California families. Those buying on the individual market will see an average 9 percent rise in health care costs this year, according to Covered California. American families have seen their prescription drug costs nearly double since the year 2000, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation and prescription drug pricing is one of the largest drivers of rising health care costs. In January, aReuters report found 30 drug manufacturers that did business with the State of California planned to raise their prices in January.
Governor Newsom’s health care proposals take those cost and access concerns head-on. They include:
- California becoming the first state in history to expand Medi-Cal coverage to all eligible undocumented young adults age 19 through 25
- Expanding financial help for families and individuals to buy health insurance in private market and becoming the first state in America to give monthly discounts to middle-income families buying insurance
- Taking on prescription drug prices by creating one of the nation’s biggest single-purchaser systems for prescription drugs that allows government, individuals and potentially private employers to sit together at the bargaining table to negotiate drug prices
- Working with Congress to create a robust federal waiver to allow the state to move toward single payer and creating a commission to do the planning necessary for a transition under a Democratic president
- While the White House attacks reproductive health care, Governor Newsom proposes making a historic $100 million investment in reproductive and sexual health care.
The Washington Post editorial board wrote Governor Newsom’s proposals “would make his state a leader in resisting Republican efforts to unravel the Affordable Care Act,” noting that “Mr. Newsom’s plan is a promising reform that other states – and, if Congress and the president ever come to their senses, the federal government – should consider.” Closer to home, the East Bay Times and San Jose Mercury Newseditorial board called the Governor’s health care proposals “a solid step toward lowering costs, improving health outcomes and moving the state closer to universal coverage.”
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