Cuts to health care hurt Fresno’s people, economy
The Oct. 29 story in The Bee, “Put Fresno County first. We cannot let Congress strip away our health care,” shines a bright light on an under-reported fact about health care: its undeniable link to the economy.
Health care on a federal level represents about one-sixth of our country’s economy. Here in Fresno County, according to The Bee, “When Medi-Cal expanded in our county, it led to more jobs, healthier budgets and more financial stability. Without expanded health care, about $430 million would be eliminated from our economy, meaning public agencies would be forced to do more with even less money and the entire community would suffer.”
To be clear, as the commentary clearly states, any cuts to health care services will have a painful effect on real people – millions of families stretching from Fresno to Florida. However, the financial impact will be nearly as devastating. We simply can’t afford any cuts to health care. It’s bad for people and it’s bad for Fresno County’s business.
Margarita Rocha, Fresno
This story was originally published November 24, 2017 at 2:45 PM with the headline "Cuts to health care hurt Fresno’s people, economy."