Calif. Union Drops Ballot Push on Nonprofit Hospital Pay

A California union will forsake efforts to put initiatives on the 2014 election ballot to cap executive pay and treatment charges at nonprofit hospitals after reaching an agreement with medical centers to jointly address problems with the state’s Medicaid program, the Sacramento Business Journal writes.

SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West and the California Hospital Association said this week that they will co-fund a $100-million campaign aimed at stabilizing finances at Medi-Cal, the state-run health program for the poor, and improving efficiency and quality of care.

The union launched the referendum drives last fall, saying the measures would cut billions of dollars from state health-care costs. The new deal echoes a similar pact in 2012, when SEIU dropped proposed ballot initiatives to tighten hospital regulations after reaching an agreement with the association. The industry group has contended the ballot campaigns were aimed at putting pressure on hospitals where the union wanted to organize workers.

SEIU continues to back a bill now before the California legislature that would require nonprofit hospitals to devote 5 percent of their net revenue to charity care or risk losing their tax exemptions, the Business Journal also reports.