By Pastor K.W. Tulloss, Weller
Street Missionary Baptist Church | Inland Valley News
Los Angeles, CA — First
Corinthians 12:14 says “For the body does not consist of one member, but of
many.” In other words, our physical health is connected to one another. That
principle should guide public policy as much as personal principle. A society
reveals its character by how it treats the sick, the elderly, the poor, and the
vulnerable. Health care is not merely an individual concern; it is a collective
responsibility.
Every day, we are all called to
answer a moral question: will we turn away from our neighbors in their hour of
need, or will we stand together and carry one another through hard times? This
June, Los Angeles County voters face one of those scenarios. Measure ER offers
us an opportunity to affirm health care as a human right in Los Angeles County.
It gives us the chance to ensure working families, seniors, children, and
vulnerable residents can still access emergency rooms, trauma care, mental
health services, and neighborhood clinics when they need them most.
I have prayed with families
sitting in emergency rooms long into the night. I have watched church members
delay treatment because they feared the cost. I have watched my very own
children experience medical emergencies, and I understand the fear families
feel when services may not be available in their time of need. I have counseled
parents carrying the burden of choosing between rent, groceries, and medicine.
These are everyday realities in our congregations.
Measure ER arrives at a time
when LA County’s healthcare safety net is under extraordinary strain. Federal
healthcare cuts threaten billions in funding losses over the next several
years, placing public hospitals, community clinics, and emergency care systems
at risk. Without local action, the county could face health care worker
layoffs, reduced services, and even clinic closures that would
disproportionately impact Black communities and other communities of color.
Black people know what happens
when health care disappears – or doesn’t exist at all. We have lived through
generations of inequity in which access too often depended on ZIP code, income, or
insurance status. We know that when hospitals close in underserved
neighborhoods, the consequences are felt throughout the community – in lives
lost, chronic illnesses untreated, and crises made worse because help came too
late.
Measure ER proposes a temporary
half-cent sales tax increase for five years to stabilize health care and
essential public health services across Los Angeles County. Essential items
like groceries and prescription medications would remain exempt, and the
measure includes independent audits and public oversight provisions. The
measure is expected to generate roughly $1 billion annually to help sustain
hospitals, clinics, emergency preparedness, and public health infrastructure.
Now, I understand why some
people might be skeptical. Many families are already stretched thin by the
rising cost of living. But affordability concerns are the exact reason to
support Measure ER, because allowing our healthcare system to collapse under
the weight of these cuts would cost us far more.
When clinics disappear, people
wait until illnesses become emergencies. When preventive care vanishes,
suffering increases – and sometimes people who were working can no longer do
so. When emergency rooms are overwhelmed, everybody waits longer for lifesaving
care. The burden eventually falls hardest on working people who already have
the fewest resources and the least margin for crisis.
The Black church has always
stood at the intersection of faith and justice. We have never separated our
spirituality from community responsibility. Churches were the backbone of the
Civil Rights Movement because we have always understood that defending our rights
requires collective action. Today, that same calling remains before us.
Measure ER will not solve every
healthcare challenge facing Los Angeles County. But it is a necessary step to
protect care for millions of residents and preserve a healthcare system that so
many families depend on every day. It says that in Los Angeles County, we will
not abandon our neighbors when the pressure mounts.
This June, I urge voters across
our churches and communities to vote YES on Measure ER — because dignity
matters, because healthcare matters, and because we are called to care for one
another by our faith.
The post OP-ED: Measure ER Offers an Opportunity to Vote Our Values appeared first on BlackPressUSA.
