The California Hospital Association and the California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO agreed June 25 to pull two ballot measures from the November election, one targeting hospital executive compensation and one restricting healthcare union political spending, hours before the state qualifying deadline.
The withdrawn measures would have, respectively, capped total annual compensation for hospital executives, managers and administrators at $450,000 and restricted certain large healthcare unions from spending on state or local ballot measures without following member consent requirements, including annual notice of prior-year political spending. Both sides had raised tens of millions of dollars to support their proposals, according to CalMatters.
“Today marks an important step in strengthening the health care system to ensure high-quality health care services are accessible throughout California,” Carmela Coyle, CHA president and CEO, said in a statement.
“We look forward to working to ensure the continuation of a robust Medi-Cal program and the continued operation of hospitals in all areas of the state, providing both quality healthcare and good union jobs to Californians,” Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO, said in a statement shared with Becker’s.
The executive compensation measure marked the sixth time SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West has attempted to cap healthcare executive pay at $450,000 through state or local ballot measures, according to CalMatters. The California Hospital Association had supported the union spending measure.
A separate measure that would impose a one-time 5% tax on California billionaires — which SEIU-UHW has backed as a way to offset Medi-Cal funding cuts — was not part of the agreement and remains on the November ballot.
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