IMPERIAL – California Legislator Eduardo Garcia made a special visit to Imperial County while his office remained open hours after closing time to clarify the direction California Legislative Bill 918 should take. .
AB 918 seeks to combine the Heffernan Memorial Health Care District (HMHD) and the Pioneers Memorial Health Care District (PMHD) into a single countywide health care district, but the bill does not include: It was frowned upon because it did not include the El Centro Regional Medical Center (ECRMC). suggestion.
Concerns were raised by both HMHD and PMHD on Saturday, May 6. They feared that the omission of ECRMC could lead the new medical district to take on his $150 million debt of his ECRMC, but Garcia said that the new medical district would be negotiable. It was very clear what I could do. The amount of debt they owe, if any.
“A Sacramento attorney said no one can owe someone else’s debt. ECRMC is in the red, and that’s why ECRMC isn’t included in the bill.
While he didn’t answer all the questions on Saturday, Garcia said why the medical district needs to form before these negotiations requires the county as a whole to be involved in deciding what to do with the debt. In a follow-up interview with the Imperial Valley Press on Monday, May 8.
Garcia added that financial evaluations are being conducted at the same time as AB 918’s development, allowing new health care districts to begin negotiations soon after formation, saving time.
Garcia said Saturday: “We were told there was an emergency within this community, so we wanted to streamline this as much as possible to speed up the process.
Garcia said Saturday that the bill is still in the draft stage and is subject to change, and plans to use many of the suggestions received during debate, including on the composition of the board.
Similar to follow-up interviews, Garcia said the new healthcare district will initially include two representatives from PMHD, two representatives from HMHD, and two representatives from El Centro. He said he would establish a management committee with seven members appointed. ECRMC or El Centro City Council and one county representative.
This board will be tasked with forming districts immediately, so elections can be held by the end of 2024 at the latest. It will also be tasked to determine the taxes associated with the new district, as the state will not handle it at all.
Additionally, Garcia said he made it very clear that ECRMC, PMHD and HMHD must continue to function until this new district is ready to function on its own. Districts continue to function independently.
The main complaint from HMHD and PMHD is not the details of the plan to move forward as one healthcare district, but the ECRMC, while negotiations are already underway to locally form a single healthcare district. went to California.
However, El Centro Mayor Pro-Tem Sylvia Marroquin called for the action, saying ECRMC’s debt was unfairly handicapped during the conference and that it was also a path to a playing field. defended.
“We supported you when we had to close maternity services…. Didn’t they?” Catalina Alcantara-Santillan, chairman of the PMHD board of directors, said Saturday.
For more information, provide input to AB 918, a36.asmdc.org, or call Congressman Eduardo Garcia’s Imperial Valley Office at (760) 355-8656.