5 days ago
Impact of Medicaid changes on Shasta County subject of town hall meeting
What could be ahead for health care in Shasta County should federal legislation proposing changes to Medicaid be approved will be the topic of a community meeting scheduled to take place on Monday.
The informational meeting will be held from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, June 30 at the Shasta Community Health Center, located at 1035 Placer St. in Redding.
The League of Women Voters of the Redding Area and Shasta Community Health Center are sponsoring the event, said organizer Susan Morris Wilson, president of the league's board of directors.
"They are still working on, and there's obviously at the national level, some disagreement about what should go into Medicaid and what should not. So we thought this would be a good time to try to make people aware of what it could do to Shasta County," Wilson said about the federal budget cut proposal.
More: No Medicaid cuts for Redding, Shasta County right now. But health care execs are worried
"As the federal government (makes) changes, so changes the California budget on Medicaid," she said.
There will be in-person seating for about 100 people and the event will also be live streamed, organizers said.
Two speakers are scheduled to address the meeting.
Shasta Community Health Center CEO Brandon Thornock will speak about Medicaid.
Another local health care expert, Shasta Regional Medical Center CEO Sam Itani, will address the issue of how rural hospitals could be impacted by changes in Medicaid, said Wilson.
Both California and the federal government share Medicaid's costs.
Members of the audience will also be able to ask questions about Medicaid, the program providing health care services to low-income and some disabled people.
In Shasta County, Partnership HealthPlan of California enrolls 66,000 individuals, or approximately 37% of the population.
Partnership, a nonprofit with a massive presence in the North State, manages benefits for Medi-Cal, the program that administers Medicaid benefits in California.
Wilson said Monday's forum will also be livestreamed at these links:
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Michele Chandler covers public safety, dining and whatever else comes up for the Redding Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. Accepts story tips at 530-338-7753 and at mrchandler@ Please support our entire newsroom's commitment to public service journalism by subscribing today.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Top Shasta health care execs will answer questions about Medicaid cuts
