First Piece of California Budget Plan Passes, Cuts Prison Health Care
On Wednesday, the Senate Budget Committee approved the first piece of a budget plan aimed at addressing part of California's budget deficit, including a 40% reduction to the prison health care budget, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The cut aims to reduce California's spending on prison health care by $811 million, although it does not specifically address how all of those cuts will be achieved.
In testimony before the legislature earlier this month, J. Clark Kelso, the court-appointed receiver who oversees the prison health care system -- said he supports the cuts.
A federal court put the prison health care system in receivership because of concerns that the quality of medical services in prisons did not meet constitutional standards.Â
In his testimony, Kelso told state lawmakers said the quality of health care in prisons is improving.
What's Next?
Action on other budget measures will continue this week, but the Legislature has delayed debate of cuts to social services and other programs until the summer (Goldmacher, Los Angeles Times, 2/11). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.