Mountain Valleys Health Centers Secures Victory to Keep Rural Clinics Open

Dangerous ballot measure would have diverted billions from patient care into new state bureaucracy

 

BIEBER, Calif. — Mountain Valleys Health Centers (MVHC) announced today that a dangerous ballot measure that threatened to force hundreds of clinics across California to close has been stopped. The measure, presented under the guise of improving patient care, would have required health centers to divert funding away from critical patient services and could have resulted in millions of dollars in fines for organizations unable to comply with the onerous initiative.

 

“I am proud of our work to stop this harmful ballot measure, and I want to thank the California Primary Care Association and the coalition of clinics that worked tirelessly to protect and preserve patient care,” said Shannon Gerig, chief executive officer of Mountain Valleys Health Centers, which serves more than 12,000 patients annually through clinics in Lassen, Modoc, Shasta, and Siskiyou counties. “Our rural communities depend on MVHC clinics for medical, dental, behavioral health, and some specialty services. This measure would have forced our clinics to shutter, requiring residents to travel potentially hundreds of miles round trip for primary care needs.”

 

The initiative had qualified for the November 2026 ballot, putting millions of vulnerable patients at risk of losing access to health care. The measure also included illogical exclusions that would have threatened essential patient services and investments, including funding for X-ray machines and mammography equipment, referral coordinators, nurse and physician managers, staff dedicated to aging populations, and health coverage enrollment navigators.

 

“This was a direct attack on our patients and communities,” said Dr. Erik Van Houten, a physician at Mountain Valleys Health Centers. “Local emergency rooms would have been inundated with patients, pushing capacity to its breaking point. Rural North State residents deserve access to quality patient care, and today is a victory.”

 

Founded in 1981 in the rural community of Bieber, California, Mountain Valleys Health Centers serves northeastern California through 7 communities in Bieber, Burney, Dorris, Fall River Mills, Tulelake, Mount Shasta and Weed. Mountain Valleys Health Centers offers a full spectrum of high-quality services, including medical, dental, and behavioral health care, as well as specialty services such as cardiology, chiropractic, podiatry, and psychiatry.

 

###