Latest California Healthline Stories
May Budget Revise Hits Health Care Hard
Health care reductions made up more than one-third of the additional $6.5 billion Governor Jerry Brown (D) needed to trim since the last budget proposal in January. Five months ago, the governor was only staring down a $9.2 billion deficit. Now it’s estimated at $15.7 billion.
Brown’s new proposal released yesterday included about $2.5 billion in cost reductions to health care programs.
The plan calls for new cuts for hospitals and nursing homes, more cutbacks in Medi-Cal services and another reduction to In-Home Supportive Services.
May Budget Revise Hits Health, Human Services
Governor Jerry Brown’s May revision of the state budget released this morning includes about $2.5 billion in cost-saving measures to health care programs.
“They’re pretty serious cuts,” Brown said today. “Cuts to Medi-Cal, to hospitals, to nursing homes, to CalWORKS, this is all very real. But California has been living beyond its means, and it has to be balanced at the day of reckoning. This is the day of reckoning.”
According to the Democratic governor’s proposed budget, $1.2 billion in cost-reduction will come from Medi-Cal, about $880 million from CalWORKS, $225 million from In-Home Supportive Services and about $161 million from other health care programs, such as the AIDS Drug Assistance Program.
New Budget to Hit Health Care Programs?
Before Governor Jerry Brown (D) came out with the January budget, some in the health care community speculated that new budget cuts wouldn’t hit health programs — because there wasn’t much left that could be cut back.
But that proved untrue, when reductions hit Medi-Cal, Healthy Families and In-Home Supportive Services.
Assembly Casts Its Vote for Vaccinations
The Assembly yesterday approved a measure to require parents to meet with a licensed medical provider if they want to exempt their children from immunizations. After consultation, practitioners would sign an exemption form for parents.
Bill author Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) said AB 2109 makes sure parents make an informed decision about vaccinations.
“So they can make an informed decision about the impact this would have, not just on their own children but on the school and in the greater community,” Pan said. “This is extremely important, to protect the public safety in our communities. Immunizations are one of the most important preventative measures, one of the most-effective measures we’ve had, to try to protect our communities from infectious diseases.”
Laura’s Law Advocate Objects to Plan
The Assembly Committee on Health on Tuesday approved a proposal designed to change the way some counties handle people who are having a mental health crisis.
“Consumers, mental health professionals, law enforcement and others are working side-by-side developing ways to de-escalate crisis situations, while reaching out to consumers and providing much-needed mental health services,” said Wesley Chesbro (D-Arcata), author of AB 2134.
“This bill simply tells counties to have a best practice in place for crisis response before proceeding with the countywide involuntary treatment program,” Chesbro said. “It’s that simple.”
Disability Rights Withdraws Contempt Filing — For Now
A contempt-of-court motion filed against the Department of Health Care Services was recently withdrawn by Disability Rights California, though adult day health care advocates said they might re-file later.
“We still think we’re right and the department is wrong,” said Elissa Gershon, a senior attorney at Disability Rights California. “But once we began having discussions, it became clear it wasn’t something that was as appropriate to bring before a federal judge.”
There were two main sticking points in the contempt filing, one of which has been worked out, Gershon said.
Will FQHCs Get Lower Adult Health Rate?
A federal judge last week heard arguments for and against issuing a temporary restraining order against the state’s plan to reduce payments for adult day health services. The California Primary Care Association filed suit on behalf of federally qualified health centers.
U.S. District Court judge James Ware heard the case last week. He has 30 days to issue a ruling.
In a similar case last month filed by the Adult Day Health Care Association, a federal judge declined to issue a preliminary injunction against the state and upheld the Department of Health Care Services’ plan to set new rates for day service providers in the recently launched Community Based Adult Services program.
Newborn Test Takes Baby Step Forward
A bill to require hospitals to screen all newborns for congenital heart conditions recently was presented to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations — where it was expected to get a rough reception. Instead, AB 1731 (Marty Block, D-San Diego) was moved to the suspense file, where it will await next month’s budget discussions.
“The test … only costs $3 per baby,” Block said at last week’s hearing. “If undetected, congenital heart disease can require subsequent emergency room visits, and additional medical costs are much higher than the treatment cost if the baby’s condition had been caught earlier.”
Block was addressing fiscal concerns first raised in the Assembly Committee on Health. In addition to California hospitals’ cost of administering the screening test to newborns, the Assembly analysis estimates additional cost to the Department of Health Care Services to launch and run the program — up to $1 million annually, as well as start-up costs of $300,000.
Opposition to Ombudsman Bill Evaporates
Joe Rodrigues, the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, has removed his opposition to SB 345 by Lois Wolk (D-Davis), a Senate bill designed to reform the ombudsman’s office.
Rodrigues said the bill authors made a number of amendments to the measure. He now supports the bill presented at a legislative committee hearing earlier this week.
“We were able to work with them on coming to some agreements that will benefit the program and strengthen the [ombudsman’s] office,” Rodrigues said. “It made some of the good things to do in the bill less burdensome, such as the advisory council and the annual report. The bill looks very different today than it was a year and a half ago when it was first introduced.”
Health Plans’ Quality for Duals in Question
Seven of the eight health plans in California’s pilot project to shift dual eligibles into managed Medi-Cal have inferior quality ratings for treating Medi-Cal beneficiaries, according to a report released yesterday.
The ambitious plan for 1.1 million Californians eligible for both Medicare and Medi-Cal benefits will start with a pilot program in four counties — Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and San Mateo. The state hopes to expand the pilot project to as many as 10 counties, pending legislative approval.
The report from National Senior Citizens Law Center, citing the state Department of Health Care Services’ own quality assessment, shows seven plans earned a rating of 1 out of 5 stars in overall Medi-Cal performance.