Mercurynews The community leaders meeting Friday emphasized the need to “bootstrap” health care solutions rather than wait for state or federal action.

About 140 people attending a forum at the Cocoanut Grove organized by the Health Improvement Partnership of Santa Cruz County learned:

• Many more county children under 17 now have health insurance thanks to programs supported by public and private funds, with only 2 percent uninsured, compared to 10 percent statewide. That reduces the “hidden tax” paid by people with insurance to cover those without.

• About 43 percent of area adults have an “advance directive,” a document that allows people to explain what kind of care they want in a medical crisis. That compares to 36 percent statewide and 29 percent nationwide. End-of-life treatment is a factor driving up health care costs.

• About 46 percent of local physicians are using electronic medical records, up from 9 percent in 2004. That’s better than the 37 percent statewide. Electronic records are expected to improve efficiency, reduce errors and save money.

• One area where more effort is needed: reducing obesity.

About 18,000 children in the county — 31 percent — are overweight, based on body mass index, compared to 33 percent statewide and 17 percent nationwide. A local collaborative, Go For Health!, is enthusiastic about a new campaign, “52-10,” based on research and developed in Maine.

Physicians will encourage parents and children to daily eat five or more fruits and vegetables, limit TV and computer time to two hours or less, spend one hour or more in vigorous play and cut consumption of soda and sweetened beverages to zero.

“It’s hard to talk about weight,” said dietician Shelly Wingert, explaining how the 52-10 initiative gives doctors a way to raise the subject.

Such a conversation can make a difference, according to Dr. Salem Magarian, who recommends his patients drinking milk or water rather than soda and fruit drinks.

He described a 13-year-old boy whose family realized they needed to change their eating, shopping and exercising habits. Now the youth is fit enough to be a personal trainer for other teens.

Unless the obesity epidemic subsides, “we’ll pay for it in medical costs,” Magarian said.

Currently, the cost of HMO coverage is $533 per month for an individual and $1,386 per month for a family in Santa Cruz County, higher than state rates of $479 monthly for an individual and $1,247 monthly for a family.

Speakers, including employers, stressed the need to push for solutions locally.

Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, who arrived late after a fender-bender, explained the difficulty of reaching a consensus on legislation.

“The dynamics have changed because of the election in November,” he said, noting news coverage of Democratic hopeful Barack Obama in Indonesia. “The whole world is waiting for a new president.”

He encouraged residents to lobby Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer on Medicare reimbursement rates that shortchange doctors in Santa Cruz County. Otherwise, he said, “it falls to a lower priority.”

Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, said next year might offer a better opportunity for health care reform in Sacramento with the new speaker, Karen Bass, who was a nurse early in her career.

He slammed the governor’s budget proposal as “a complete whack at health care.”

Dientes, a nonprofit dental clinic in Santa Cruz, recently expanded its facility to treat more patients, but the governor’s proposal to cut adult care as an optional MediCal benefit would cut services in half, director Laura Marcus said.
Contact Jondi Gumz at 706-3253