After battling for more than 2 years, Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan has succeeded in eliminating a multi-million dollar taxpayer-funded healthcare program for citizens of other countries from the Sacramento County budget.
During an earlier budget cycle (yes even before the economic downturn), MacGlashan had gone through the budget (rather than relying on staff reports) where she discovered staff had been listing the healthcare program (which was ONLY for citizens of other countries) as mandatory, when it was a purely discretionary program.
At a cost more than $2.4 million a year, Sacramento County taxpayers were providing citizens from other countries with healthcare coverage beyond that which US, California and Sacramento citizens could access. MacGlashan believed that was wrong.
Supervisor MacGlashan has been hawkish on the budget and taxes since her election to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors in 2004, noted that eliminating this multi-million dollar program did not affect public health (immunization, fighting communicable diseases) or emergency care.
Hat’s off to MacGlashan for standing on principle and fighting for nearly 2 years to eliminate this boondoggle.