Bush Fiscal Year 2006 Budget Proposal Would Reduce Funding for Medi-Cal
Federal funding for Medi-Cal would decrease by about $550 million to $18.96 billion under President Bush's fiscal year 2006 budget proposal, the Sacramento Bee reports. The reduced federal contribution to Medi-Cal would be "the biggest single hit" for California in the federal budget, according to the Bee (Doyle/Whitney, Sacramento Bee, 2/8).
The proposed reductions to state Medicaid programs included in Bush's proposal "could exacerbate [California's] budget woes," in part because of changes to some health and human services programs included in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) fiscal year 2005-2006 state budget proposal, including a provision that would implement premiums for some Medi-Cal beneficiaries, the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Epstein/Coile, San Francisco Chronicle, 2/8).
Officials for California counties are working to identify possible effects of Bush's proposal on hospital funding, the Los Angeles Times reports (Simon, Los Angeles Times, 2/8).
A spokesperson for the Health and Human Services Agency said the state was reviewing the proposal to assess its effect on California.
According to the Chronicle, some Democratic lawmakers said that Bush's budget could be "devastating" to some low-income residents, including Medi-Cal beneficiaries who require nursing home care (San Francisco Chronicle, 2/8).
Additional information on Schwarzenegger's proposal to redesign Medi-Cal is available online.