Medi-Cal Funding for Adult Day Health Care Centers in Jeopardy
California's most recent budget proposals would eliminate Medi-Cal reimbursements for 327 adult day health care centers across the state in an effort to save $135 million, the Sacramento Bee reports. Medi-Cal is California's Medicaid program.
Without Medi-Cal reimbursements the majority of those centers will close, according to the Bee (Creamer, Sacramento Bee, 2/11).
The change is scheduled to occur on March 1.
Medi-Cal currently covers most of the centers' costs, which are approximately $76 per participant per day.
Opponents of the closings say the centers play an important role in participants' and their families' lives.
Lydia Missaelides, executive director of the state Association for Adult Day Services, said the state will end up spending more money to provide care for the roughly 37,000 low-income state residents who use the centers if they are closed. Missaelides said the cost increase will come because more than 40% of the participants will turn to nursing homes and others will seek hospitalization (Gorman, Los Angeles Times, 2/11).
Missaelides added that the state could face unemployment insurance expenses due to the 7,600 adult day care center employees who will lose their jobs if the centers close.
The non-partisan Legislative Analyst's Office has endorsed the Medi-Cal reimbursement cuts (Sacramento Bee, 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.