|
HOME > ABOUT > PRESS > HEALTH AGENCIES FALL ILL TO BUDGET IMPASSE
Article published - August 22, 2008
Credit: SONOMA NEWS
Health agencies fall ill to budget impasse
By Emily Charrier
Both Sonoma Valley Hospital and the Sonoma Valley Community Health Center are feeling the financial pinch as the state legislature rounds out its eighth week without negotiating a state budget.
Cuts to Medi-Cal, state health programs and grants have cost these health-care facilities hundreds of thousands of dollars, and even more cuts are expected once a budget is in place. "Medi-Cal pays us about $10,000 a day," said Jim McSweeney, chief financial officer at the hospital, who said the facility has not received any Medi-Cal payment since July 28. "Every week they wait costs us $50,000."
To save cash, the state began a 10-percent reduction in Medi-Cal reimbursement to a variety of health services on July 1. Additionally, most Medi-Cal payments have been delayed because without a budget there is no money in place for the state to reimburse the hundreds of hospitals, health centers, pharmacies, dentists and adult-care facilities that care for low-income patients. But a bit of relief came Tuesday when U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder ordered a temporary halt to the 10-percent Medi-Cal cuts, meaning the state would be required to reimburse the various health-care facilities that treat Medi-Cal patients. While this is good news for health-care providers, the decision will add another $575 million to the $15.2 billion deficit the state already faces.
"Without a doubt, the decision to make the 10 percent cut was difficult, and it's had a negative impact on real people. But we're grappling with a very, very serious budget problem, and we can't count on the economy to help us any time soon," said Sen. Patricia Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa. "I am sympathetic to Medi-Cal patients and providers, but Judge Snyder's decision won't help us fix the budget. As it stands, her action may add another $500 million-plus to the deficit, which means another $500 million-plus that we have to cut from somewhere."
A spokeswoman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who originally proposed the Medi-Cal cuts, said his office will review the decision. McSweeney said Sonoma Valley Hospital would benefit greatly from the reimbursement but administrators aren't holding their breath for the $250,000 that the state has withheld this summer.
"We'd love to see that, it'd be enormous. We're not counting on it, of course," he said.
Although a number of federal grants have saved the Sonoma Valley Community Health Center from financial peril, the center does rely on Medi-Cal for about 49 percent of its total revenues and another 8 percent from state programs and grants such as California Healthy Families. The center received no Medi-Cal reimbursement during the first two weeks of July and has not seen a dime in August.
"In terms of all the state-funded programs, we've gotten nothing," said Patricia Talbot, executive director of the center. "We have three months of cash on hand, which will last us until October."
Talbot said assuming the legislature comes to a decision in the coming weeks, the center will be OK financially and will not have to cut any programs, services or staff. But her biggest concerns are the many proposed changes to Medi-Cal, which she said will make it more complicated for people to sign up for coverage.
Under the proposed changes, Medi-Cal recipients would have to re-apply every quarter to continue receiving benefits, as opposed to re-applying once a year. Applying for Medi-Cal means filling out extensive paperwork and making a trip to the Medi-Cal office in Santa Rosa, which can be a long trek for low-income patients without easy access to transportation. Talbot said her concern is that patients will not be diligent about staying on Medi-Cal and will let their coverage slip. If patients seek care while not covered, the health center will not receive state reimbursement for treating them.
"That will hurt us the most," Talbot said.
Talbot said the health center offers assistance in signing up for Medi-Cal, and is even planning to drive patients to Santa Rosa to encourage them to remain covered. She said she will have to hire extra staff to handle the increased workload.
Sonoma Developmental Center has been well protected from budget cuts thanks to state laws that keep developmental facilities off the chopping block. But Schwarzenegger's plan to cut state workers' pay to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour would impact a portion of the over 500 employees at SDC. State Controller John Chiang has refused to implement the pay cuts and the dispute is headed for court Sept. 12.
"We haven't really felt the impact of that yet," said Karen Litzenberg, spokeswoman for SDC, who said employees have been receiving their regular pay rate.
|
