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HOME > ABOUT > PRESS > MEDI-CAL CUTS CONFIRMED
Article published - March 27, 2009
Credit: PRESS DEMOCRAT
Medi-Cal cuts confirmed
By Martin Espinoza
California won’t get the types of federal stimulus funds needed to stave off $1 billion in spending cuts and $1.8 billion in higher taxes, State Treasurer Bill Lockyer announced this morning.
The $2.8 billion in spending cuts and taxes were outlined in the state budget agreement signed last month. They would have been voided if the state determined it would receive $10 billion in stimulus funding that could be targeted for general-fund deficit relief.
The cuts will eliminate a number of programs, including several health care programs deemed optional under Medi-Cal.
Among the Medi-Cal programs slated for elimination are adult dental services, mental health, podiatry and the minimum pay guarantee for in-home support service workers.
Lockyer, in a statement Friday submitted to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state legislature, warned of the fallout from cutting adult dental benefits and the minimum pay guarantee.
“I strongly urge the Governor and Legislature to reconsider at least these two programmatic cuts before they take effect on July 1,” wrote Lockyer.
Kathie Powell, CEO of the Petaluma Health Center, said she hopes legislators will do what they can to reinstate Medi-Cal benefits she said should not be considered optional.
The elimination of Medi-Cal’s adult dental coverage would cut 50 percent of revenue at the Petaluma Health Center’s dental clinic. That could force its closure.
“We are really hoping the proposed strategies will work to reinstate the impending cuts which would be devastating to our communities who depend on us for adult dental and mental health services,” she said.
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