Iton: Santa Clara County voters wanted Measure A to fund health care

As a physician, I am often confronted with the myriad of ways in which our social safety net has become hopelessly inadequate. Every minute of every day in the Bay Area, we are all witnessing a health care crisis playing out in our streets. It is a crisis that has become an issue for public safety as well.

Hundreds of people are falling through a gaping hole in our social safety net and becoming unhoused, uninsured, unemployed or chronically hungry. Something must be done and Santa Clara County voters did just that recently with the passage of Measure A.

However, in a Mercury News Op-ed some in the public safety community are suggesting that county voters were seeking to support public safety in voting for Measure A. In polling leading up to Measure A, overwhelming majorities of voters expressed awareness of the dramatic cuts to public health care programs spelled out in H.R. 1, the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill.”

As a result of H.R. 1, the Trump administration has slashed funding in health insurance, mental health care, housing, food, child care and even heating assistance. We know that this will lead directly to a surge of demand across Santa Clara County’s public health care system, particularly for our fellow residents who are close to falling through our safety net, including infants and children who will lose access to primary and preventive care like vaccines.

Santa Clara County responded quickly after the passage of H.R. 1 by drafting Measure A to help offset these draconian federal budget cuts which threaten to slash $1 billion per year from the county’s health system. Our county leaders did exactly what we want good leaders to do, anticipate human needs and act accordingly.

In the Measure A poll conducted by DB Research, 64% of Santa Clara County voters found the message that Measure A would prevent the closure of local hospitals and emergency rooms convincing. County residents clearly knew that they were voting to support the local safety net health care system and stop the health care crisis from getting worse.

Santa Clara County residents also deserve a strong public safety system, but it is a false dichotomy to pit health care against safety. All of us deserve both of those things. Measure A was about protecting our health care system. We know good health care will reduce the burden on public safety. A healthy child is much less likely to interact with the criminal justice system and more than 40% of incarcerated people have a mental health condition. Getting people the treatment they need will directly improve public safety.

Even despite Measure A’s passage, the county will still be facing some difficult choices due to the sweeping cuts to human services in the federal budget. Health care, public safety and a range of other important county services will face ongoing budget pressure.

As CEO of The Health Trust, I am proud that for 30 years our organization has worked relentlessly to provide health and social support to the most vulnerable Santa Clara County residents. We have time and time again seen the generosity of this community and the strength and commitment of its leaders.

We were proud to support Measure A and inspired by our county leadership for having quickly recognized the threat to our health system and acting with urgency to rally community leaders in support of this decisive action. We look forward to standing with the Board of Supervisors as it invests Measure A dollars into the health care system to prevent the loss of critical emergency and other health services.

Dr. Tony Iton is CEO of The Health Trust, a health foundation covering Santa Clara and Northern San Benito counties.  He is a medical doctor, attorney and public health leader in California.