It’s a statement of our times when politicians exclude poor people from medical services – and people of good conscience shrug their shoulders.

This happened to some of the poorest, most vulnerable people in Sacramento County in February 2009. Overwhelmed by the torrent of scary economic news, Sacramento residents raised little objection when the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors voted to stop funding health care for undocumented immigrants. I honestly can’t remember whether I knew about it or not.

As the recession decimated Sacramento County’s revenue in 2009, supervisors voted to end health care for undocumented immigrants. For some it was a painful decision. For others it was overdue.

Today the county’s finances are in better shape, and supervisors are cautiously looking at restoring some level of health care services to thousands of low-income residents who are not here legally. State lawmakers also are considering policy changes that would broaden health care assistance for undocumented residents.

A workshop to discuss how Sacramento County can provide health care to undocumented residents was held in the Board of Supervisors chambers Wednesday.

Community members concerned with health care for undocumented immigrants met Saturday to discuss the future of health care in California.

Leaders from the Building Communities Coalition gathered in Sacramento in advance of a workshop which will be held by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors next week.

In 2009, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors implemented a policy barring undocumented immigrants from accessing county health care services.