☆ Santa Clara County wants a 5/8-cent sales tax. Will that cover public health losses of $3 billion per year?
Santa Clara County’s public health system is poised to lose $3 billion yearly by 2030. So says County Assessor candidate Rishi Kumar, who argues the $330 million that Measure A is meant to raise each year will only pay a fraction of the shortfall. “Where’s the plan for the rest?” he asks, “more tax increases?” An Opp Now exclusive Q&A.
Opportunity Now: Why are you opposing Measure A, if the Board of Supervisors is arguing that it's necessary to raise the money to save the county hospitals?
Rishi Kumar: Measure A would dig even deeper into residents’ pockets while failing to fix the county’s ballooning deficit. The Medi-Cal (Medicaid) cuts by the federal government are devastating, but a highly regressive sales tax impacts struggling families the most.
ON: But if the taxpayers don't pass Measure A, where will the funding come from?
RK: The truth is, Santa Clara County’s healthcare system expanded too quickly, and in acquiring failing hospitals, it saddled taxpayers with the cost of propping up systems already bleeding money.
ON: Wasn’t it necessary for the county to intervene and fix the failing hospitals?
RK: In 2019, the County acquired three bankrupt private hospitals, O’Connor, Saint Louise, and De Paul. Instead of stabilizing the system, these acquisitions saddled taxpayers with massive costs. Roughly 52% of Santa Clara County’s net expenditures, about $7.1 billion out of $13.7 billion, go to its health and hospital system. By comparison, Los Angeles County spends only 29% of its budget on health services with a population that’s five times larger than Santa Clara County’s.
The County’s healthcare system lost $600 million last year, projected at $1 billion this year, and up to $3 billion annually by 2030. Measure A would raise about $330 million a year—a fraction of the shortfall. Where’s the plan for the rest? More tax increases? Rather than pursuing structural reform, or a forensic audit, county leaders have pushed this tax hike.
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