On September 17, nurses, community members, organizers, and local organizations joined together to demonstrate a ‘Healthcare Die-In’ at Kern Medical. During the demonstration, individuals portrayed as deceased patients lay on the ground with tombstones that listed their cause of death. Some of these read RIP Kicked off Medical, RIP No In-Home Care, RIP No Immigrant Healthcare, RIP No Suicide Hotline. Each of these reasons aligns with what many have endured since David Valadao signed budget cuts into the healthcare system.
The One Big Beautiful Bill since its passing and approval in the legislature has proposed to cut between 800 billion and 1 trillion in Medicaid. Valadao’s support of this bill, has already placed a heavy burden on many of his constituents 67 per cent of whom rely on Medi-Cal and Medicaid. His commitment to passing these budget cuts of almost 90 million, has also impacted Central Valley Hospitals.
Many of these hospitals are based in rural communities where the majority rely heavily on healthcare access. Just about 20 million was taken from Adventist Health in Hanford, about 24 million from Kern Medical Center, 28 million from Bakersfield Memorial Health, about 8 million from Sierra View Medical Center in Porterville, and 7 million from Delano Regional Medical Center. With these budget cuts not only are hospitals struggling to stay afloat, but some of their most rigid centers have since been shut down…