[Nov. 7, 2018] LOS ANGELES – The ‘Yes on Prop. 8’ campaign issued the following statement after California voters defeated Prop. 8, the ballot initiative to improve dialysis patient care. The statement is from dialysis patient care technician Emanuel Gonzales, whose father is also a dialysis patient:

“To protect their outrageous profits, the dialysis corporations spent more than $111 million to defeat Prop. 8, the most ever spent to defeat a ballot initiative in U.S. history. They used that massive spending to scare and mislead Californians; imagine if that money had been spent to improve conditions in the clinics instead.

“Prop. 8 allowed dialysis patients, like my dad, and the workers who care for them, like me, to put a spotlight on an industry that has operated in the shadows for too long. We’re proud to have exposed the unacceptable conditions in many clinics caused by understaffing, including reports from patients about cockroaches and unclean facilities. We exposed the massive profits this industry makes off people who literally can’t live without this treatment. And we are proud that we exposed how inflated charges in dialysis clinics drive up healthcare costs for all Californians.

“This is only the beginning; we are in this for the long haul. We intend to re-file this initiative for the 2020 ballot in California, and we are preparing to bring it to other states in the 2020 election cycle. We also plan to file a new version of Senate Bill 1156, which would stop a scheme used by the dialysis corporations to boost their profits, but was vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown. We are working to file that legislation in a number of other states, too.

“We set out to hold the dialysis industry accountable, and that’s exactly what we’ve done and will continue to do. We won’t stop until it is truly reformed – putting patients before profits.”

Paid for by Yes on 8 – Californians for Kidney Dialysis Patient Protection, Sponsored by Service Employees International Union—United Healthcare Workers West.

Committee major funding from 
Service Employees International Union—United Healthcare Workers West
California State Council of Service Employees.
777 S. Figueroa Street, Suite 4050, Los Angeles, CA 90017
Funding details at http://www.fppc.ca.gov.