Bakersfield, Calif. – Organizations, advocates, students and families delivered a simple message during a recent press event at the Liberty Bell: health is more than health care and everyone, particularly the most vulnerable members of our community, is at risk.
As an example, residents, in partnership with Building Healthy Communities South Kern including Faith in the Valley, Dignity Health’s Community Health Initiative, Clinica Sierra Vista, Vision y Compromiso, California Partnership, say that the expansion of Medi-Cal has helped boost the regional economy by creating new jobs and providing people with basic preventative services. Specifically, in Kern County, if life-saving health coverage were to be reduced or dramatically cut, we could:
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Lose health insurance for about 160,000 children, seniors and working family members;
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Get rid of about 14,700 jobs and;
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Rip about $305 million from our local economy