PR Newswire-

California’s largest union of firefighters endorsed a statewide ballot initiative, contending it will improve patient care for people with kidney failure, decrease pressure on the 911 emergency response system and spare taxpayers from picking up the tab for dialysis clinics that fail to invest in adequate staffing.

Prop. 8, the Fair Pricing for Dialysis Act, will appear on the Nov. 6 ballot and is supported by the California Democratic Party, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, veterans, patients, healthcare advocates and more than 130 community organizations, labor unions and churches.

“Taxpayers and our 911 emergency system are being stressed by dialysis providers that refuse to invest in safe staffing levels and patient care practices,” said Brian K. Rice, president of the California Professional Firefighters, representing more than 30,000 firefighters in the state. “Prop. 8 will correct that problem, protect patient safety and ensure taxpayers aren’t on the hook subsidizing operators that put profits ahead of patient care and public safety.”

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