The above video is just one example of what people like Raul go through every day. The state of California cut his nursing hours nearly in half because they don’t think he qualifies for 24 hour nursing care. In 2010, he moved away to UCLA by himself and lived away from his family for a whole semester. Unfortunately, he had to come back home to San Diego at the end of December of that year. One of the reasons he had to move back home was because he was fighting the state of California. Despite convincing a judge that he does need 24 hour care, his nursing hours were still cut. After doing a little research and talking to some people, he saw that he was not an isolated case and that cuts were going on everywhere around him.

He wasn’t denied care because he doesn’t need it, but simply because the state of California wanted to save money. To that end, Governor Jerry Brown has been lobbying hard to privatize all of California’s Medi-Cal (California’s version of Medicaid) program. He wants to turn it over to private insurance companies under the guise of saving money. This isn’t going on just in California, but everywhere in the country

The privatization of Medi-Cal (California’s version of Medicaid) will force a large majority of disabled people into nursing homes and many others further into poverty.

Many people don’t have the amazing family and friends that Raul does. Their support systems are non existent. He was lucky enough to be born into a family that has supported him in everything he does. This website is not only our attempt to give that support system to others that weren’t as fortunate as he, but also our way of showing the world why cutting essential healthcare programs is not acceptable.

How can I help?

• You can share this website with your friends and family. The more people that know about this the better. We want to put as much pressure on the government in order to stop them from destroying thousands of lives.
• Sign the petition for Raul to get his hours back. It only takes a second to do!
• If you’d like to donate towards Raul’s medical bills please check out the donation page.
• Contact Governor Jerry Brown (916-445-4481) (@JerryBrownGov) (facebook.com/jerrybrown) and DHCS Director Toby Douglas (916-440-7400) and ask them why Raul doesn’t have 24 hour care.
• Get informed. In order to stop something you first have to know what’s going on. You can check out our news section for more information about Medi-Cal, Medicaid, Medicare and managed care. For more information about Raul and Medi-Cal please head over to our Frequently Asked Questions page. You can also check out our blog where Raul and others will be talking about their experiences with the healthcare system.