Carolyn Marie Jackson
April 8, 1940 – August 18, 2024

Carolyn Marie Jackson, born on April 8, 1940, at 3:16 p.m. at Storks Nest Maternity Hospital in Inglewood, California, passed away peacefully on August 18, 2024, after a courageous battle with COPD and cancer. She was a beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and cherished friend, known for her fierce spirit, resilience and beauty.

Carolyn was the daughter of Jesse (Thelma) Crow/Jackson and Lenard Warren Jackson and sister of Carl Jackson. She spent her early years in Bremerton, Washington, and completed her childhood in Cutten. Throughout her life, Carolyn embraced her passions and interests with enthusiasm. She was a talented painter, a devoted lover of her cats, her lifetime career was a weighmaster for Baysalt and Syre industries in Santa Rosa CA — a profession she approached with dedication and skill. After retirement in 2010 Carolyn and her daughter opened Humboldt Check Cashing.

She is survived by her loving children, Kurt Westman and Cheryl Martins; her grandchildren, Aric, Jeremy, Shannon, Robert, and Lateese; and her great-grandchildren, Aviance, David, Analisa, Madison, Jaxon, Akirah and Kinsley. Carolyn was preceded in death by her parents Thelma and Leonard and her brother Carl.

Carolyn’s legacy is one of strength and grace. Her memory will be cherished by all who knew her. She is now at peace, reunited with her parents, brother and beloved cat Prince, in the eternal embrace of heaven.

A memorial service to honor Carolyn’s life will be held on Sept. 8, 2024 at 1 p.m. at the Moose Lodge 4328 Campton Rd Eureka, Ca 95503. Food will be provided.

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PREVIOUSLY: Sheriff’s Office in Line to Get a Six-Figure Grant From an Org Led By … the Sheriff?

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The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors had a lot of questions this morning for Sheriff William F. Honsal, but ultimately, with a 4-1 vote, they approved his office’s request to accept a $334,615 grant and create two new staff positions as part of an ongoing regional campaign to combat human trafficking.

As noted in a post from yesterday, the grant is being bestowed upon our fair county by a nonprofit organization called The Northern California Coalition to Safeguard Communities (NCCSC), whose president is none other than Honsal himself. (On Aug. 1 he wrote a letter of congratulations to his own office, reporting that its request for funding had been approved.)

The coalition (comprising Humboldt, Mendocino, Lake, Trinity and Siskiyou counties) receives 100 percent of its funding from the Howard G. Buffet Foundation by way of another nonprofit, The Center to Combat Human Trafficking, which, in turn, is financed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett (Howard’s dad).

The grant was originally placed on last week’s consent calendar, where it could have been approved as part of a list of items without any specific discussion or deliberations, but Fourth District Supervisor Natalie Arroyo asked for it to be pulled. Since Honsal was unavailable to appear in person last week, the discussion took place today.

In an informational report to the board, Honsal offered context for the region’s human trafficking problems, explaining that black market weed farmers often haul migrant laborers en masse to work their grow operations. The drastic collapse in weed prices has made the industry look more like other agriculture in California, with cultivators trucking people in to tend their gardens.

“And oftentimes,” Honsal said, “these are people that are non-documented … people from foreign nations that are coming in and that are working these farms.”

In other words, they’re being trafficked. 

“We believe that they are victims of crime,” Honsal said.

The NCCSC was formed in 2022, and the coalition has allowed the participating law enforcement agencies to hire evidence technicians and civilians who can interview suspected trafficking victims that might be scared to talk to cops. This year, Honsal requested a full-time public information officer and a full-time program coordinator to assist the coalition.

The grant will also pay for training and equipment, a human trafficking PR campaign and computer software from Israeli mobile forensics company Cellebrite, whose cellphone-cracking technology has attracted controversy over human rights and privacy issues.

Honsal said his office already uses Cellebrite software, as do other agencies in the county and state. “It’s a forensic tool … ,” he said. “We can seize phones on scene that we believe are associated with criminal activity and then bring those back to our to our department … and extract the software out of them.”

But he assured supervisors that his office takes care not to violate anyone’s Fourth Amendment rights protecting them from unreasonable searches and seizures.

“We don’t act without a search warrant or consent or someone who’s on probation,” he said. 

“We can’t use the Cellebrite [software] we already have for this?” First District Supervisor Rex Bohn asked. 

Honsal explained that the newly requested software would allow his department to take this phone-cracking tech out into the field, potentially assisting investigations that stem from search warrants issued in other participating counties.

Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell asked what will happen once this grant runs out. Honsal said that the grantee has guaranteed five years of funding, with just two in the books. “So these positions are guaranteed for the next three years,” he said, adding that he hopes to show results that will convince the funders to pony up for two decades or more.

Arroyo voiced concern about adding temporary grant-funded positions to the county payroll during the current hiring freeze. “I would prefer to see those positions filled within the nonprofit structure,” she said.

Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson agreed, noting that while these positions may be grant-funded for the next three years, that won’t cover all the county’s costs. “[W]e do take on a retirement burden that’s ongoing,” along with contractual obligations for layoffs, he said.

Honsal said this type of arrangement is not uncommon and argued that since the program coordinator will be working in a law enforcement capacity, dealing with sensitive and confidential information, they must be employed by his office.

“There’s no other way that we’re going to do this, and there’s no other way that we can do this within our county with our current budget,” Honsal said.

Wilson had a lot of other concerns, including protecting immigrant victims of human trafficking from deportation and convincing other counties in our region to embrace the legal marketplace rather than continuing a prohibition model that jacks up black market profits. 

Honsal assured him that the coalition isn’t focused on illegal immigration, and he said the cultivators they go after aren’t interested in joining the legal marketplace.

“These people are straight criminals that are growing out there,” he said. “You ask anyone that’s in the business: It is more profitable to be illegal, okay? It is way more profitable to be illegal. And so people are choosing that path because they want profits, and they’ll take the risk.”

Wilson said that was his point, but he didn’t press the issue. 

Bohn kept his inquiry brief. He said this coalition serves as a tool to help protect Humboldt County’s legal market, so regarding this latest request, “Is it going to help?”

“Yes, it will,” Honsal replied.

“You got my answer,” Bohn said.

Arroyo explained that she would be voting “no” due to her procedural concerns about adding staff positions at this point in the budget cycle. The rest of the board voted in favor, thereby approving the item.

In an emailed response to questions from the Outpost, Honsal explained that the Howard G. Buffet Foundation is responsible for reviewing grant proposal applications and awarding funds, adding that all five participating counties in the coalition were polled to determine their needs.

The NCCSC’s board of directors — which is made up of the sheriffs from each participating county, with Humboldt County DA Stacey Eads nominated to join them — voted Honsal in as president, he said.

In 2021, the Center to Combat Human Trafficking donated a pickup truck to each of five Northern California counties “as part of a collective effort to combat human trafficking in the Northern California region,” as the staff report put it at the time.

We asked Honsal to respond to an anonymous tip we received alleging that he has been driving the truck donated to Humboldt — a Ford F250 4x4 crew cab valued at $51,454, plus around $20,000 in aftermarket upgrades — as his commuter vehicle.

“I currently drive the truck as my Sheriff Assigned Vehicle,” he replied. “The Truck is not my personal vehicle. I only use it for business associated with being Sheriff.  It has a radio, emergency lights, siren and specialized equipment. It replaced another Government vehicle I was driving.”

State claws back cannabis grant money

Coming back after a closed session hearing and a lunch break, Planning and Building Director John Ford gave the board some bad news: Thanks to a recent audit of the California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC), Humboldt County will have to return somewhere between $3 million and $5 million in grant money to the state.

Sounding deeply annoyed, Ford explained how we got here. Back in 2021, the state allocated $90 million to help cannabis farmers transition from provisional to annual licenses. Humboldt County’s portion, based on the number of license holders and equity applicants, was $18.6 million.

Ford’s department proposed using that money to address impacts related to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), specifically water and energy usage, in part by allocating $3.5 million to conduct watershed studies.

“This was discussed up front with the DCC, and the county was encouraged to proceed,” Ford said. “The grant agreement with the DCC was clear that this money would be allocated to both provisional license holders and annual license holders.”

However, a state audit of the DCC’s program found that the agency was allocating funds in a way that was inconsistent with the original purpose of the $90 million investment — namely, moving growers from provisional to annual status. During the state’s 20-month audit, Humboldt County was ordered to stop allocating money. 

A state auditor spent a week here in Humboldt’s Planning and Building Department, “going through every single grantee, through every permit,” Ford said. “A significant amount of county staff time was expended explaining the rationale for the way the county program was structured, and the county provided many examples of permit conditions that required water storage and required applicants to move away from generators.”

But Ford said the explanations seemed to fall on deaf ears, and as a result of the audit the DCC was required to change its agreement with the county to specify that money could only be granted to people with provisional licenses.

“The net result is that the county will not … be able to spend all the money that was allocated, because we do not have that many provisional license holders,” Ford said, later adding, “I know this is not great news, but it is what it is.”

The board members expressed disappointment.

“I think it’s really unfortunate that the DCC chose to do this,” Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone said. He noted that it’s always been his philosophy to reward the people who’ve succeeded in acquiring their annual licenses, but that now won’t be possible with these funds.

Arroyo and Wilson Madrone asked if there were other ways to spend the money, rather than returning it — perhaps by hiring consultants, creating guidance documents or allocating funds to the Sanctuary Forest.

Ford said there’s no such wiggle room in how to spend the money. He and his staff “thought we were being maybe a little bit creative, but really appropriate” in directing funds toward addressing cumulative environmental impacts, without strictly delineating between provisional and annual license holders.

“I want to be kind with my words, but trying to explain that to an auditor is impossible,” Ford lamented. The $3.5 million allocated for watershed studies was also deemed ineligible. 

The board asked about the potential for using the remaining funds to support storage and forbearance projects, which have been a focus of organizations such as Sanctuary Forest and the Salmonid Restoration Federation. But Ford again reiterated the constraints of the grant agreement.

Responding to suggestions from Madrone to advocate for the efficacy of supporting annual license holders, Ford said, “It’s been a painful amount of time that we’ve spent on this, supervisor. It really has.”

Odds and ends

• Bohn read a lengthy resolution recognizing the work of the Child Welfare Services Division of the Department of Health & Human Services. Bohn lauded them for operating 24/7 without fanfare, and for submitting timely court reports, among other work. The board and a number of public speakers also thanked CWS workers for their dedication. “We see you, we love you, and we thank you for all your hard work,” Madrone said.
• The board unanimously appointed Whitethorn resident Jeff Hildreth to the Shelter Cove Resort Improvement District.
• The board read retirement resolutions for both Mark Lamers, who spent 16 years with the Department of Health & Human Services, and Delia Garcia, for her “22 years of exemplary service to the county and the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office.”
• Also, the board honored the retirement of someone who never worked a day for county government: former Coast Central Credit Union President and CEO Jim Sessa. The organization’s CFO and incoming president, Fred Moore, offered a few words of commendation for Sessa’s legacy.

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Nearly a month has passed since the Board of Trustees of Eureka City Schools backed out of a controversial land exchange agreement with AMG Communities - Jacobs, LLC, the anonymous private developer who had promised nearly $6 million for the Jacobs Campus. At this week’s meeting, the Board of Trustees will discuss the next steps for the long-blighted site.

If you aren’t familiar with the Jacobs Campus saga, here’s a quick recap: Last December, the Board of Trustees unanimously voted to swap 8.3 acres of the former Jacobs Middle School campus to a secretive corporation, known only as “AMG Communities-Jacobs, LLC,” for a small home on ⅛ acre lot, plus $5.35 million in cash. 

The controversial decision has drawn criticism from residents of Eureka’s Highland Park neighborhood, the South Eureka Neighborhood Alliance, the Eureka City Council, the League of Women Voters of Humboldt County and the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury, which felt the “secretive” board “acted hastily and without sufficient due diligence.”

In the eight months since the deal was struck, AMG Communities asked to extend the close of escrow on four occasions. At the Board of Trustees’ most recent meeting on Aug. 8, the board voted unanimously to reject AMG Communites’ fourth request to extend the deadline to a date uncertain in November, after Eureka voters determine the fate of the Measure F, the Housing for All and Downtown Vitality Initiative.

AMG Communities issued a statement the day after the board’s decision announcing that it – not the school district – had made the decision to withdraw from the agreement. AMG Communities said it would “wait until the passage of Measure F … to reconsider purchasing the property if it is still available.”

Assistant Superintendent Paul Ziegler will present the Board of Trustees with five options for the Jacobs Campus at Thursday’s meeting:

1. Retain the property. Under this option, the board could choose to maintain the property in its current condition or make improvements to the athletic fields on the north side of the site. This option would allow the board to resume the surplus process “at any time.”
2. Continue property negotiations with the state Department of General Services, the entity representing the California Highway Patrol, which has expressed “ongoing interest” in purchasing the site. For years, CHP has eyed the Jacobs Campus as a potential location for its new headquarters. CHP was in active negotiations with the school district up until the board struck a deal with AMC Communities in December 2023.
3. Sell or lease the property to someone else. This option would require the board to notify the public before opening a competitive bidding process. Under this alternative, the board could seek a waiver from the State Board of Education that would allow the school district to accept proposals from public and private entities. In that case, the district would not be required to sale or lease the property to the highest bidder.
4. Develop the site with workforce housing. This option would be an “extensive process” and likely a long-term commitment for the school district.
5. Explore other “creative” solutions. This option includes links to sections of state code for Real Property Exchange (exchanging the property for “real property” of another person or private business), Joint Occupancy (allowing another person or entity to use the site) and a Public-Private Partnership (using private sector funds to help maintain the site).

A copy of the presentation can be found at this link.

Earlier in the meeting, during closed session, the board will discuss ongoing negotiations with the California Highway Patrol. So that deal is not dead.

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The Board of Trustees will also respond to the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury’s report, “Eureka City Schools — Board of Trustees: Deal or No Deal,” which, as stated above, criticized the board’s handling of the land swap. 

The Board of Trustees of Eureka City Schools will meet Thursday, Aug. 29 at 6:30 p.m. in the district office – 2100 J Street in Eureka. The agenda can be found at this link.

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PREVIOUSLY:

• Who Will Get the Former Jacobs Campus? Bidders for Blighted Site in Highland Park Are the City of Eureka and the California Highway Patrol, With a Decision Coming Soon
• The CHP Would Like to Build New Headquarters on the Property Championed by People Opposing Downtown Housing Development, and There Was a Meeting About it Yesterday
• Open Letter Urging Eureka Voters Not to Sign the ‘Housing For All’ Petition Endorsed by 100+ Humboldt County Residents, Including Local Leaders in Politics, Business and Culture
• New Coalition — ‘I Like Eureka Housing!’ — Formed to Oppose Arkley-Backed Pro-Parking Lot Initiative
• Mystery Item on Tonight’s Eureka City School Agenda Suggests Imminent Action on Jacobs Campus, but the School District Won’t Share Details
• Eureka City Schools Board of Trustees Unanimously Votes for So-Called ‘Land Exchange’ With Mystery Developer
• The Eureka City Schools Board Voted on a Resolution Last Week That Was Not Published Before the Meeting. Is That Legal?
• At Town Hall Meeting, Frustrated Residents Discuss Future Development of Eureka’s Jacobs Campus; Mystery Developer Still Mysterious
• Security National Has Spent at Least $236,000 on the Pro-Parking ‘Housing for All’ Initiative So Far
• Grand Jury Slams Eureka City Schools For ‘Secretive’ Jacobs Campus Deal
• League of Women Voters Chimes in on Lack of Transparency in Eureka City Schools Property Transfer
• Rob Arkley Pursued Purchase of Jacobs Middle School Property Before Eureka City Schools Entered Land-Swap Deal With Secretive Corporation
• Eureka City Schools and AMG Communities Delay the Close of Escrow on Jacobs Campus Yet Again
• Eureka City Schools’ Deal With a Mystery Developer For the Jacobs Campus is Dead
• Anonymous AMG Communities Confirms Death of Jacobs Campus Deal, Vows to Try Again After Election Results

Press release from the Humboldt County Drug Task Force:

Steele.

On August 26, 2024, Agents with the Humboldt County Drug Task Force served a search warrant on Richard James Steele (age 38), and his residence located in 2100 block of McKinleyville Ave. in McKinleyville. During the months of July and August, the HCDTF received information that Steele was using controlled substances, and he was in possession of several assault weapons. Steele is a convicted felon and is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition.

Upon HCDTF’s arrival at Steele’s residence, he was detained in the driveway without incident. During the search of Steele’s residence, Agents located approximately 3 grams of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. During the course of the investigation, Steele informed Agents that he had a storage unit located in the 2300 block of Central Ave. in McKinleyville. Steele advised Agents that he had several firearms inside of the storage unit. Steele signed a consent to search form for the storage unit and Agents responded to the storage facility.

Upon accessing the storage unit, Agents located a non-serialized AR-15 short-barreled rifle (SBR), an AK-47 assault rifle, a Kriss Vector .45 caliber firearm, a non-serialized 40 caliber handgun with a threaded barrel, level 4 body armor, and ammunition.

At the conclusion of the search warrant, Steele was transported to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility and booked on the following charges:

• 29800(a)(1): PC Felon in possession of a firearm
• 33215 PC: Possession of sawed-off shotgun/short-barreled rifle
• 30605 PC: Possession of an assault weapon
• 24610 PC: Possession of an undetectable firearm
• 31360(b)(1): Felon in possession of body armor
• 11377(a) HS: Possession of a controlled substance
• 11364(a) HS: Possession of drug paraphernalia

Anyone with information related to this investigation or other narcotics related crimes are encouraged to call the Humboldt County Drug Task Force at 707-267-9976.

Lawmakers and advocates say Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration is making inflated estimates about the cost of legislation, with some suggesting his subordinates have been trying to kill the bills without making the governor politically accountable for the outcome.

“While people are dying on the streets from a lack of access to behavioral health care treatment, state agencies continue to fabricate exorbitant cost estimates,” Sen. Dave Cortese, a Democrat from Campbell, told CalMatters after one of his mental health proposals died recently in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco who authored another mental health bill that died recently, said in a public hearing last month that the administration’s cost estimate of his bill was “extreme and outrageous.”

The pointed accusations from Democratic lawmakers and health care advocates who tend to be friendly with the Democratic governor are extraordinary because such criticism is rarely made in public. The examples also stand out because they challenge the administration’s response on one of the governor’s top priorities, mental health.

The administration did not accept an interview request with CalMatters and would not provide more detail – to CalMatters or to lawmakers – to explain the cost estimates. By email, however, a spokesperson insisted the costs were accurate and rejected the idea that they were intentionally inflated.

“It’s outrageous and inaccurate for anyone to suggest these numbers are fabricated or artificially inflated,” Rodger Butler, a spokesperson for Newsom’s Health and Human Services Agency, said in an email. “Legislative fiscal analyses from state government departments are informed by real-world, on-the-ground experience implementing legislative mandates.”

Whatever the motivations, four health care bills with controversial cost estimates died quietly earlier this month in the Senate and Assembly Appropriations committees even after each had advanced without a single “no” vote from a Democratic legislator.

Assembly lawmakers meet during a Suspense File hearing at the Capitol Annex Swing Space in Sacramento, on Aug. 15, 2024. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters

The Appropriations Committees are focused on the cost of legislation, especially in a year when the state is struggling with a budget deficit. The four bills were moved to the committees’ “suspense files” along with 263 other controversial or costly bills. Each committee then killed the bills in their respective suspense file with a single vote.

Mike Gatto, a former Democratic lawmaker from Los Angeles who chaired the Assembly Appropriations Committee, said inflated cost estimates from a governor’s administration are nothing new.

When an executive-branch agency provides “a significantly exaggerated cost” on a piece of legislation “it’s generally a big flashing light that the administration dislikes the bill and that the governor would likely veto it,” he said.

It can be advantageous for the governor when legislators quietly kill those bills, he said.

“Having the appropriations committee there to kill it and to take the arrows (of criticism), that is a tremendous benefit politically for any governor,” Gatto said.

Gatto has a hand-written note framed on his wall that former Gov. Jerry Brown gave him expressing Brown’s appreciation for keeping bills from reaching the governor’s desk.

In a corner of the note are two words: “Keep holding.”

But Thad Kousser, a former legislative staffer who’s now a professor of political science at UC San Diego, said the integrity of the legislative process is jeopardized if cost estimates are not accurate.

“You’ve got to have reasonable and realistic estimates that are not part of a political strategy in order for everyone to make informed decisions,” he said.

This year alone, according to the Digital Democracy database, lawmakers considered 2,522 bills, many of them with large potential costs to taxpayers.

Democrat calls costs ‘extreme and outrageous’

Sen. Wiener’s legislation, Senate Bill 294, would have required an automatic review of cases in which commercial health plans denied children and young people mental health treatment.

Wiener, the chair of the Senate’s mental health caucus, said in the public hearing last month that the measure “does nothing more than require health plans to provide the coverage that they’re required to provide and stop denying covered behavioral health care treatment to children.”

So he said it was “outrageous” when the Department of Managed Health Care estimated that the bill would cost $87.6 million per year by 2028 and would require 340 new employees. That’s a 55% increase over the 610 positions in the department’s budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year. A separate state office, the Department of Insurance, also said the bill would require it to hire an additional five positions by 2026 for $1.2 million. There is no description in the cost estimate about how the departments arrived at the estimate or what jobs the new positions would perform.

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CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

Medical debt weighs heavily on the lives of millions of Californians. It can ding their credit scores and hurt their chances of landing a rental or securing a home mortgage.

Earlier this year, the Biden administration announced a proposal to stop medical debt from showing up on credit reports. That proposed rule is under consideration with an uncertain timeline.

California lawmakers are moving faster with a similar measure that would take effect as soon as January if it becomes law.

Sen. Monique Limón, a Santa Barbara Democrat, is carrying Senate Bill 1061, which would remove medical debt from credit reports and prohibit debt collectors from reporting patients’ medical debt information to credit agencies. It would pertain specifically to debt owed to a medical provider, such as a hospital or a doctor’s office.

It passed the Assembly on Monday and is heading to the Senate for a final vote. Until recently, the bill would have also included debt charged to medical credit cards and specialty loans, but changes in the Assembly Appropriations Committee redefined “medical debt” to exclude these.

Limón was surprised by the changes. The amendments were a win for a coalition of bankers and lenders that had been requesting that change for months. Following the amendments, the coalition removed its opposition to the proposal.

“This legislation passed through three Assembly policy committees without the most recent amendments by Assembly Appropriations, which substantially weaken the bill,” Limon told CalMatters in an emailed statement. “It is clear that … influential entities opposed to the measure prevailed.

“In spite of this disappointing setback, I plan to continue pushing for the passage of SB 1061 in the hope that we can provide partial relief to consumers.”

Representatives for Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas would not comment on the bill and Assembly Appropriations Committee Chairperson Buffy Wicks did not reply to messages and emails asking why the changes were made. Those lawmakers can change bills in the Appropriations Committee.

Supporters of Limon’s bill say even though the feds are moving in a similar direction, California’s bill still has merit.

“The (federal) rulemaking right now, it’s just a proposal. It could get watered down, they take a long time. And then, of course, depending on what happens with the election, there’s a big question mark of what happens to any of our federal rules,” said Jenn Engstrom, state director with the California Interest Research Group, a co-sponsor of the bill. “So rather than leaving it up to the uncertainty of the federal government, we think it’s really important that California has a strong role here.”

The bill is backed by Attorney General Rob Bonta and the California Nurses Association, among other health advocates. Proponents argue that people acquire medical debt through no fault of their own. After all, going into debt because you need surgery is not the same as going into debt for a luxury vacation. Experts and advocates say medical debt is also more prone to inaccuracies because of mistakes in billing or disputes with insurers.

The bill “does not forgive debt, but it does ensure that when it’s not reported we don’t negatively impact credit scores for a lifetime for people,” Limón said.

If the bill makes it to the governor’s desk and he signs the bill, California would join states such as Colorado and New York in prohibiting medical debt from damaging credit scores.

The burden of medical debt

About 4 in 10 Californians report carrying some type of medical debt, according to the California Health Care Foundation. Nationally, the average medical balance on credit reports is around $3,100.

“The impact of this debt is so well-known that many people take it into consideration when deciding whether to seek care when they need it, and many opt not to, deciding to steer clear of the (medical) bill, which puts their health at risk,” said Katie Van Deynze, a policy and legislative advocate with the consumer advocacy group Health Access California.

In June, the Biden administration announced a proposal that would bar medical debt from appearing on credit reports. It’s expected to help raise the credit scores of approximately 15 million Americans by an average of 20 points, according to the administration’s announcement. The administration estimates that would translate to the approval of about 22,000 additional mortgages every year.

The federal proposal also leaves out medical credit cards, a gap Limón was hoping to close.

Medical credit cards may be offered by medical providers as an option to cover the cost of a procedure. They can be enticing, offering people the option of no payment upfront and a promotional period of deferred interest. However, if interest does kick in, it can be higher than that of a regular credit card.

Groups such as the California Bankers Association argued that the definition of “medical debt” in Limón’s bill was too broad. The only debt that should be included in this legislation, they said, is the kind that is directly owed to a medical facility or provider. In hearings and letters to the Legislature, lobbyists for these groups argued that medical credit cards could also be used for elective procedures, fitness programs and veterinary services, among other expenses. That type of debt, they argued, should not be hidden from creditors.

Medical debt forgiveness

The topic of medical debt resonates so much with the public that some local governments and states are going one step further and pushing for debt relief programs.

This summer the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors announced a pilot program to buy off millions worth of its residents’ medical debt through a partnership with the national nonprofit Undue Medical Debt. Hospitals and other providers can sell unpaid debt to companies that would profit from collecting that money. Undue Medical Debt leverages this arrangement and purchases debt for cents on the dollar, but instead of collecting the debt, it cancels it.

Through this model, county supervisors estimate they can spend $5 million to cancel $500 million worth of debt for 150,000 low-income residents. Medical debt in Los Angeles County surpasses $2.9 billion, according to an analysis by the county’s public health department.

New York City and Arizona have done similar deals with the same nonprofit. And just last week, New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy announced that the state would use leftover pandemic relief dollars to eliminate $100 million worth of medical debt for 50,000 residents.

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has pledged to build on the current administration’s efforts to wipe medical debt from credit reports by incorporating debt forgiveness. Among her campaign promises: “Work with states to cancel medical debt for millions of Americans.”

Last month, the Washington Post reported that Harris had been working with North Carolina to incentivize hospitals there to forgive patients’ medical debt in exchange for additional Medicaid dollars. In mid-August, North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper announced that all of the state’s 99 hospitals agreed to participate in this program. About 2 million low- and middle-income North Carolina residents are expected to benefit starting next summer.

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Supported by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), which works to ensure that people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to learn more.

CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

Brad Mettam was born on November 12, 1952 in San Francisco to Ron and Dolores Mettam. On October 16, 1976 he married Diane Yee and her son David became his son too. On March 27, 1978 their daughter Jessica Joy was born. Their family complete, Brad and Diane moved as their jobs demanded, living in San Francisco, Half Moon Bay, South Lake Tahoe, Dyer, Nevada and Bishop, California before finally relocating in Eureka, where Brad was the Deputy District Director for Planning and Local Assistance with CalTrans. His office was always open to anyone needing help or advice. Upon his retirement he was presented with a resolution from the California State Legislature.

Prior to his carer with CalTrans, Brad worked with Esmeralda and Inyo Counties seeking to impede the negative aspects of the proposed nuclear waste facility at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. He served as chair of the Esmeralda County School District, and in Bishop he served as chairman of the Great Basin Air Pollution Control District Hearing Board.

Brad and Diane believed in sharing their blessings. While the children were school-age they coached soccer, led 4-H groups, taught dance, tutored students, and offered a temporary home to kids who needed a roof over their heads. They welcomed three AFS exchange students for various periods of time from Thailand, China and Norway. Brad and Diane served as soccer coaches in South Lake Tahoe. As a couple and a family, they did things together.

Brad served as Santa’s elf each year at the Bishop Christmas Parade, riding with Santa on the fire engine and helping with the children in line. Diane made his elf costume. Brad had a long affiliation with firefighting. He served as a volunteer firefighter in Half Moon Bay and South Lake Tahoe, and reorganized and served as Chief of the Fish Lake Valley Fire Protection District in Dyer, Nevada.

Some time after settling in Bishop, Brad joined the local Rotary Club. He served in several offices before becoming President. He also became a member of the Paul Harris Society. When Brad and Diane moved to Eureka, Brad joined the Eureka Rotary Club and was again elected to serve as President. He remained active in Rotary until his death.

He was also a devoted church member, serving as the sound tech for the Eureka First United Methodist Church. He served a similar position at the Bishop First United Methodist Church, as well as keeping the books. When Diane was pastor at Pioneer Memorial United Methodist Church in Independence Brad ran the music system, proof-read and folded the bulletins, made sure there was a dish for the potlucks, and Diane had a clean robe and stole.

Brad and Diane loved animals, especially dogs, although there was a time when the family had seven sheep. For the past 45 years they had at least one rescue dog - at one time they had five. Lately they were always accompanied by Hannah, a bichon, and Jack, a miniature schnauzer. They also have a large feeder in their back yard to take care of the local birds and squirrels.

Brad passed away suddenly on August 6, 2024 in Eureka. Memorial services will be held on Saturday, August 31st at 11 a.m. at the Eureka First United Methodist Church at 1901 F St, Eureka.

In lieu of flowers, the family recommends donations to the Eureka First United Methodist Church or the Eureka Rotary Club. Condolences may be sent to Rev. Diane Mettam, 4381 Cedar St., Eureka, CA 95503.

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