Each month this year, KQED Public Radio's The California Report is hosting special statewide live discussions of health issues of importance to Californians. More than a dozen public radio stations statewide air these informative sessions, and many of them have added local programming of their own to this special project.

November 13's show topic was "Health Care Rationing." Program guests included Walter Zelman, president and CEO of the California Association of Health Plans; Marge Ginsburg, executive director of Sacramento Healthcare Decisions; John Golenski, executive director of the Institute for Ethics and Health Policy, and Dr. Kevin Grumbach, chief of family and community medicine at San Francisco General Hospital. Our special broadcast was part of Health Dialogues, an ambitious two-year special effort to look at California health issues, funded by The California Endowment.

As a California civic and legislative leader, you have made a commitment to examining and addressing health issues. During the show, one of your constituents called us with her concerns, which we think can be further illuminated with your ideas, suggestions and comments:

Julie from Sacramento said she suffers from a chronic illness that has not responded to any conventional medical therapies. After working closely with her physician, she found a complementary/alternative treatment that seems to help her. However, her insurance does not cover it. Many Californians depend on therapies like acupuncture, hypnosis, and herbal medicine as a final option when all else fails. Yet they often pay out-of-pocket when their private or public insurer does not cover these services. Those who can't afford these expenses are left with no treatment option. What policy changes, if any, would you recommend to help Californians like Julie who have difficulty accessing complementary and alternative treatments and for whom traditional medicine has failed?

A number of other legislators have responded to questions like this. You can read them on our website. We would be pleased to add your observations to our web site -- particularly any responses to the question above. I invite you to join this lively discussion.

The aim of Health Dialogues is to facilitate a statewide discussion on important health issues -- a conversation that brings to the table (on air and via the World Wide Web) policy makers, state officials, private sector organizations, non-profits and everyday citizens affected by health issues and policies. We believe that your observations and ideas would enrich that conversation.

Sincerely,

Raul Ramirez, Director
News and Public Affairs
KQED Public Radio