Our Catholic tradition has long emphasized concern for those in need, particularly children. The Catholic health ministry has applied this concern to the health care needs of our communities.
In California each year nearly 48,000 children under the age of 18 start smoking, and more than 13 percent of high school students smoke. Up to 25 percent of visits to often overcrowded hospital emergency rooms are associated with smoking-related illnesses. Furthermore, hundreds of thousands of California's children lack access to affordable and timely health care.
To address these issues, groups such as the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, California Hospital Association, Tobacco-Free Kids, California Emergency Nurses Association and PICO California are sponsoring Proposition 86, the Tobacco Tax Act of 2006, which will appear on the Nov. 7 general election ballot.
By raising the state's tobacco tax by 13 cents a cigarette ($2.60 per pack), the initiative will make it possible for all California children to have health insurance, significantly reduce smoking and related diseases, and improve access to timely emergency care in hospitals.
That's why my organization, the Alliance of Catholic Health Care, has endorsed Proposition 86. Proposition 86 is vital to the fulfillment of our healing ministry because it provides much-needed funding for emergency health care services and insurance coverage for all California children.
It also continues our tradition of respect for life and the common good by greatly reducing the number of children who begin a life-long habit of smoking, which does great harm to their health and increases our state's health care costs.
Teen Smoking Prevention and Reduction: A recent study by the California Department of Health Services found that Proposition 86 will prevent more than 700,000 children now under the age of 17 from becoming smokers, prevent 300,000 smoking-related deaths and save nearly $16.5 billion in healthcare costs.
If the current trend continues, more than a half million of our state's children now under the age of 18 will ultimately die prematurely from smoking. More needs to be done to protect our youth. When cigarette prices increase, fewer children start smoking. No wonder the tobacco industry is spending millions to defeat Proposition 86!
Health Coverage for All California Children: Proposition 86 will also provide the funds to ensure California children have access to affordable health insurance. 800,000 California children --- nearly 10 percent --- do not have even basic health insurance. No child should be deprived of necessary and affordable medical care. Providing health insurance coverage for all California's children is simply the right thing to do.
Sustaining California's Emergency Rooms: California's hospital emergency rooms are often overcrowded, forcing them to divert critical care patients to other facilities; and many hospitals are struggling just to keep their emergency rooms open. What's more, because 7 million Californians --- one out of every five residents --- are uninsured, hospitals often provide care without adequate reimbursement.
Proposition 86 will enable hospitals to improve, maintain or expand emergency rooms and critical care units, and ensure that specialist physicians are on-call and available to treat emergency patients when they are needed.
Passing Proposition 86 on Nov. 7 is central to our common health and continuing the healing ministry of the Church. William J. Cox is the president and CEO of the Alliance of Catholic Health Care. The Alliance represents California's Catholic health care systems and their 59 hospitals. |