Introduction to the Crisis in Sonoma County and the Initiative at Sonoma State University

A very critical health care cost, access, and systems crisis has been developing in Sonoma County. This crisis was suddenly brought to center stage by the demise in the summer and fall of 2002 of one of the two main large HMOs serving the County’s people.

Almost eighty thousand Sonoma County citizens lost their health plan (Health Plan of the Redwoods) precipitously, which in turn has caused many health care premiums to suddenly shoot up over 30 percent – some Medicare supplement plans going up over 100%. To make it worse, these premium increases have been accompanied by health plan benefits decreases. Furthermore, recent years have seen a number of important health care systems bankruptcies in Sonoma County. And there is nothing to say that HPR’s bankruptcy will be the last. Meanwhile about 20% remain uninsured. And all this is in the context of Federal and State of California paralysis to deal with health care crises across the country. Understandably, this whole picture significantly lowers public confidence in the safety of its local health care systems and causes a natural and powerful seeking for better solutions.

An informal initiative at Sonoma State University has been growing since fall 2002, initially funded by the SSU Provost and the Schools of Science and Technology and Social Science) in response to this crisis - aimed at studying this health care crisis in collaboration with faculty and staff and with other involved parties in the community. The initiative has become involved in such matters as the following:

• Developing a user-friendly web site on the crisis for campus and community
• Convening a monthly meeting for interested faculty and staff to discuss health care matters in common in their research/teaching/writing
• Participating in dialogue among the crisis parties in the community
• Seeking key questions among the parties
• Developing opportunities for foundation and governmental funding
• Studying the key questions which emerge
• Supporting “Grow Your Own,” a program which plans for training of additional professional health care workers and planners for eventual Sonoma County employment
• Collaborating in the development of health plan and health system design options
• Hosting and facilitating collaborative meetings, conferences, and courses on the crisis
• Considering possible alternative models to improve these fractured health systems.

The SSU initiative is described further in the SSU Project reports, listed in the right-hand column of this page.