CMA President Peter N. Bretan, Jr., M.D., issued the following statement in response to Governor Newsom's revised budget proposal: 

"On behalf of the nearly 50,000 physicians, residents and medical student members of the California Medical Association, we are encouraged by another state budget that prioritizes health care and expands health care coverage for California residents. As a part of the Governor’s May Revision, CMA commends the Governor for eliminating the threat of suspension of funding for the Proposition 56 supplemental payments. Overall, the May Revision makes important investments and changes in patient coverage and developing the health care workforce California needs to meet current and future challenges. CMA looks forward to continuing to work with the Legislature and Administration to ensure these programs are up and running as quickly as possible, and that other, critical health care programs and policies are implemented.

We share the governor’s goal of developing the CalAIM program to provide more holistic and comprehensive care to low-income patients with greater needs for services, including medical services. Physicians are the front lines of making sure CalAIM works. We must engage physicians early on in the process, while making sure front-line workers have the funding and training they require to help patients get the services they need.

CMA will also continue to prioritize the use of expanded telehealth services, including telephonic care, for patients to increase health equity and improve outcomes for patients, regardless of their income or zip code.

California, like the rest of the world, has been through a challenging year. Working together, we can put this pandemic behind us and make the investments and policy changes we need to ensure all Californians have access to high-quality health care."