101 W. Santa Clara St. | San Jose, California 95113 | P: 408-291-5250 | F: 408-286-5019 | sjchamber.

com


July 23, 2014

Senator Kevin de Len, Chair
Senate Appropriations Committee
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814

RE: AB 503 - OPPOSE

Chairman de Len:

On behalf of the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce (SJSV Chamber), our 65 member board of directors and
our 1500 member businesses, I would like to express our respectful opposition to AB 503. We have serious concerns
about the impact the bill will have on the states budget and existing partnerships between hospitals and community
benefit organizations that serve our communitys most vulnerable populations.

As you know, Californias community benefit law has been in place and working since 1994 and serves as a model for the
Affordable Care Act (ACA). Currently, hospitals work collaboratively with communities and stakeholders to assess local
health needs and tailor program to address each communitys specific needs. Our community has embraced this
collaboration and is making great strides in ensuring that our community has the health care resources it needs.

We believe that partnerships between hospitals and community benefit organizations provide an irreplaceable service
to our communities and are vital in addressing our unique community health care needs. AB 503 does little to
strengthen successful community benefit partnerships and could unintentionally put the vulnerable populations we
serve at risk.

In addition, AB 503 is unnecessary and directly conflicts with provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It creates new
and different reporting requirements, creating significant cost increases to the state and diverting hospital dollars from
community benefit programs in order to adhere to both sets of reporting requirements.

AB 503 resurrects proposals that were combined during the various versions of 2013s AB 975. AB 975 was given full and
thoughtful consideration before failing on a decisive 28-38 vote in the Assembly. Just like AB 975, AB 503 is a political
solution for which no problem exists. By eliminating the ability of hospitals to tailor programs to their specific
communitys needs, AB 503 would limit access to care, cause deep medical cuts and impact the partnership between
hospitals and community benefit groups.














101 W. Santa Clara St. | San Jose, California 95113 | P: 408-291-5250 | F: 408-286-5019 | sjchamber.com


Right now, policy makers and health care providers should be focused on expanding access to quality, affordable
medical care, as well as services. AB 503 represents a giant step backward by limiting access, threatening quality health
care jobs and putting the states health care providers at risk.

We respectfully urge your opposition, in order to preserve community partnerships that provide vitally-needed services.


Sincerely,



Matthew R. Mahood
President & CEO
San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce

Cc: Senator Ellen Corbett
Senator Jerry Hill
Senator Jim Beall
Senator Bill Monning