Countywide : No Latinos Named to Health Care Board

Despite criticism that a new county health care board does not include Latino representation, the Board of Supervisors gave final approval Tuesday to six white appointees who are expected to begin the overhaul of medical services for the poor.

County and local medical officials said that extensive efforts were made to recruit both Latino and Asian members to govern the public health authority known as OPTIMA, but got few responses.

The board decision met with protest from local Latino leaders and Dr. Robert R. Beltran, who filed an initial protest with county supervisors last week.

“We understand that nominations were solicited by your organization and that thousands of letters were mailed, soliciting applications,” said Beltran, speaking to supervisors on behalf of 20 Latino physicians. “Yet none of the physicians listed in our organization received one of these letters.”

Beltran stated that Latinos would constitute an overwhelming majority of those seeking care under the county’s new plan and would benefit from a Latino representative.

As Beltran spoke, a coalition of immigration-reform advocates--in attendance to address a separate issue--raised a banner, stating in part, “Close the Borders.” The coalition members have argued that too much public money has been used to provide health care and other services to the illegal immigrant population.

“My comments are not intended to be inflammatory, insulting or critical, yet there are facts that must be exposed and discussed regarding this issue,” the local physician said.

OPTIMA was created as a public health maintenance organization to provide care for 250,000 Medi-Cal patients countywide, making it one of the largest such programs in the nation.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Harriett M. Wieder said Tuesday that she had tried in recent weeks to attract Asian representation to the board, but with no result. She said it might be possible to expand the board’s membership at a later date to include some ethnic minority members. That decision, however, would have to come from the newly created governing board.

“To suggest that the effort was not carried out” to recruit minority members “is something the evidence will prove otherwise,” Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez said.