Proposition 35 — the “Provides Permanent Funding for Medi-Cal Health Care Services” initiative statute — is a numbingly complex measure related to how the state appropriates about $8 billion in annual revenue from taxes on health plans like Kaiser Permanente’s. This revenue is used to help pay for costs in Medi-Cal, the federal-state program relied on by 14 million low-income Californians for health care. It also goes toward other health needs, with a recent new use being supplementing Medi-Cal payments to doctors and other health care providers to keep them in the system. 

The key provision of the initiative — which is sponsored by virtually the entire California health industry — is intended to prevent the state from tapping these funds for other purposes. Gov. Gavin Newsom is opposed, arguing that lawmakers need the flexibility to deal with deep deficits — like the immense shortfalls the state faces in coming years due to heavy spending. 

Health care providers say he is breaking a past promise. But Newsom has a point. While maintaining a robust health safety net is an urgent need, Proposition 35 is another example of the ballot-box budgeting that has tied Sacramento in knots for decades. Voters are asked to guarantee funding for appealing programs via initiatives sponsored by deep-pocket groups. When they say yes, spending is locked in. 

But these same voters usually oppose higher taxes, meaning nightmares await when volatile state revenue plunges. The nightmares, however, are far worse for Californians who rely on also-important health and welfare programs that don’t have voter-approved protections. 

This is why Proposition 35 is opposed by civic groups — including the League of Women Voters, the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, The Children’s Partnership and the California Alliance for Retired Americans — that have long fought to preserve the health safety net. They see Proposition 35 as being more about protecting the financial interests of doctors, nurses and hospitals than ensuring needy patients get care going forward. 

The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board agrees. We urge a “no” vote on Proposition 35.