There is a recognized and well-documented crisis in healthcare throughout the United States. The crisis is compounded by a unique situation of a rapidly increasing and diverse population that is underserved by a shrinking number of physicians, nurses and related healthcare professionals. The NCCA promotes a quality healthcare system that is affordable, accessible and designed to support the overall health of Californians. It is critical to support efforts to contain costs while avoiding unnecessary and costly regulatory controls, including mandates that result in employers not providing healthcare coverage for their employees. The NCCA encourages the business community to actively participate in programs that encourage healthy lifestyles.

The NCCA Supports:

• Monitoring and communicating with legislative bodies the impacts of federal healthcare legislation, specifically the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, on local businesses.
• Health education and available programs that promote healthy lifestyle choices that can reduce healthcare costs.
• Policies to reduce health care costs and assure that all Americans have access to affordable, quality and efficient healthcare.
• Policies that reduce fraud and abuse within the healthcare system.
• Increased state funding of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements to providers of healthcare, rather than attempts to further cut current reimbursement rates.
• The allocation of Health and Mental Health Realignment funds based on current population and updated regularly to reflect population changes and ensure equitable distribution across the state.
• Efforts to update the state reimbursement formula for health care services to equalize the distribution of funds to local healthcare providers.
• Policies that encourage continued medical discoveries and innovations that improve quality of care.
• Competitive marketplaces to control pharmaceutical and healthcare plan costs.
• Legislation to allow employers to offer more affordable benefits plans that allow choices in coverage.
• Federal and state reforms that allow small businesses to obtain affordable group coverage and increased advantages from tax deductible medical care saving accounts and association plans.
• Continued growth and expansion of clinical based education programs to train and retain the number of healthcare professionals in the region.
• Flexibility in state mandates for hospital seismic  retrofitting.
• Legislation designed to simplify and clarify the process for designating an area as “medically underserved.”
• Actions to improve access of resources related to shortage designation or medically underserved populations, including additional funding sources for Graduate Medical Education (GME) and residency training programs.

The NCCA Opposes:

• Proposals to establish a government-mandated health care delivery system that negatively affect local employers.
• Any new taxation to fund healthcare delivery plans.
• Proposals that would increase medical malpractice insurance for physicians.
• Mandates of specific health benefits that would increase costs.
• Cuts to funding that would impede local efforts to train and retain physicians and Allied Health Professionals.