Tag Archives: Governor Brown

California Governor Jerry Brown Wants to Steal My Home

Due to the expansion of Medi-Cal under ObamaCare, my wife and I am now covered by that program.  But because both of us are over 55, Jerry can steal our house after we die to cover Medi-Cal’s expense of paying for our healthcare.  A 1993 law gives states the option to take back all the money spent by Medi-Cal for the healthcare of recipients over 55 by billing the estate after the recipient (and spouse) die.  Because California is taking advantage of this option, Medi-Cal for older people is effectively a long term loan.  

SB 1124, a bill to fix the problem, has made its way through most of the legislature.  If it passes, which is expected this week, Jerry has threatened to veto it to protect the state from the financial ruin of losing the $15 million it expects to collect by stealing the homes of other older Medi-Cal recipients who die over the next year.  That $15 million is 1/100 of 1% of the state’s budget!  At the end of this diary, I will ask you to contact Jerry Brown’s office and tell him to sign, not veto, SB 1124.  But first, a few important details.

My wife and I signed up for Medi-Cal late last year with coverage to start on January 1 of this year.  It was not until several months later that I read online that in California Medi-Cal is a long term loan program.  Even if we remain healthy, the state will deduct the monthly fee for the managed care program that administers Medi-Cal.  I even found a PDF of a brochure produced by the California Department of Healthcare Services (DHCS) that explained the details of how “estate recovery” works.  I prefer the term legal theft to the Orwellian “estate recovery.”

At no point in the process of signing up were we notified that it was perfectly legal to steal our home from our children after we both die.  When I called the Medi-Cal customer service line to ask about how to resign from Medi-Cal, they told me I was wrong and that the state could not and would not bill my estate.  Mentioning the DHCS brochure I had in my possession made no difference in that assertion by the customer service rep and his supervisor.

In April, California Senator Ed Hernandez, chair of the Senate Health Committee, introduced SB 1124, which limits so-called “estate recovery” to that which is mandated by Federal law, which is long-term care.  The bill also prohibits collection from the estate of a surviving spouse of a Medi-Cal beneficiary. I started an on-line petition in support of the bill and, with the help of Moveon and the Courage Campaign, have gotten almost 1500 people to sign the petition.  

Nearly every person I have ever talked to about Medi-Cal “estate recovery” is just as shocked as I am.  Some of the things they have said and/or written to me about “estate recovery” include “unconscionable,” “unfair,” “appalling,” and an “ill-conceived asset-stripping scheme.”  

Some of the people who signed the petition have told me their stories.  Here are some:

One woman is delaying gall bladder surgery rather than sign up for Medi-Cal.  She turned 55 earlier this year, is on disability and cannot work, and will pay off her home mortgage later this year.  Because her income is too low for the subsidies for private insurance that middle income people get, she is hoping to pay full price for health insurance when the open enrollment period for Obamacare begins in November.  

Others tell me that the process of signing up takes a long time, is cumbersome, and, like me, that nobody told them about “estate recovery” when they did sign up.  And, like me, they found out about it later through their own research.  There have even been cases where the family and beneficiaries first find out about Medi-Cal “estate recovery” after the recipient dies.

Another woman explained that she had chosen to move back into her father’s home when he became very ill so she could take care of him.  His healthcare was covered by Medi-Cal.  She was able to work in addition to caring for him but put all her extra money into paying taxes, maintenance, and upkeep for the house.  She has no money saved, but had assumed that she would be able to continue to live in the house after he dies.  There is a hardship exemption, but it will not apply because she can work.  Thousands of her dollars will be lost when he dies and the state steals his home that she will no longer inherit.  

Most ridiculous of all, a 62 year old man, who is an unemployed librarian with an MA in library science, broke his finger.  It is all discolored from the injury.  Rather than sign up for Medi-Cal so his finger could be taken care of by a doctor, he splinted it with a popsicle stick.  He does not want to lose his house.

So far, SB 1124 has gotten overwhelming support in the California legislature.  In the Senate, it passed the Health Committee 7-1, Senate Appropriations 6-1, and the full Senate 30-5.  It has also passed the Assembly Health Committee 18-0 and Assembly Appropriations 12-0.  The next step is a vote by the entire Assembly which is also expected to approve the bill as well.  As I said previously, the governor’s staff have said that they are recommending that SB 1124 be vetoed.

To overcome the opposition of the governor and his staff, I need you to act NOW by contacting Jerry Brown’s office and state your support for SB 1124.  Here is the contact information (mail, phone, fax, email):

Governor Jerry Brown

c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173

Sacramento, CA 95814

Phone: (916) 445-2841

Fax: (916) 558-3160

Email Jerry Brown

Please act right away.  

And please sign my petition in support of SB1124 at:

Online petition

Originally published in beyondchron.org

Barking Out the Vote with Sutter Brown

Yes, I admit it, I’ve been a Sutter Brown fan for years now, well,  since he set up shop on Facebook at least.  He’s the First Dog here in California and he’s been touring the Golden State to “Bark out the Vote” for Prop 30.  It’s brilliant really, who doesn’t want to meet Sutter, a well behaved Corgi who has a great sense of humor, is humble and yet takes the people’s business very seriously.

Photo source Sacramento Bee

And today my daughter and I were lucky enough to meet Sutter on one of his stops through California to support Prop 30.  

Sutter arrived to a gift from the Sharon Quirk-Silva campaign which he loved quite a bit.

And not only came to support Prop 30 but took to Sharon right away, letting her hold him for the group photo!

There was quite a turn out to help the Quirk-Silva campaign walk precincts and carry her to victory on Tuesday.  The California Assembly could definitely use someone like Sharon and I am sure Sutter’s Dad wouldn’t mind another Dem in the legislature.  Woof, woof.

But I can tell you, when Charlotte met Sutter, they were fast friends.

And the next thing you know, Sutter has a new body man, Charlotte was clearing the perimeter of dropped food, making sure there were no stray dogs in sight and procuring Sutter some water when he was parched from all the excitement!

But being the sensible dog that he is, Sutter knew when to rest and when to work.  He was gracious and took many photos with his adoring fans and was kind enough to pose with Charlotte.

I don’t have any photos, but he slipped in some sloppy kisses with her too, he must know that she’s an animal love and wants to rescue dogs when she grows up and is trying to figure out a way right now how she can raise money to rescue dogs right now, even though she is only 9.  I’m encouraging her to maybe find a way to use her artistic skills as a means to raise funds to help rescues.  And she also wants to start her own Dog Walking business as well, she’s already called it “Pups and Pals”.

Sutter is an inspiration, to young and old and he’s pounding the pavement to help not only his Dad pass an important Proposition, but to help kids like Charlotte get more funding to her schools.  Charlotte just knows she loves Sutter’s big smile and friendly disposition and just how darn cute he is.

Thank you Governor Brown and First Lady Anne Gust Brown for lending us Sutter, to steal our hearts and remind us that politics shouldn’t be so serious all the time.  From one of my favorite photos (The infamous Eye Booger assist from Mom) to all the Sutter Cuteness in the State Capital, we love that you have let us into Sutter’s world and shown us that there is lots of joy in advocating for the big and the small 🙂



Hanging out in Dad’s office!



Sutter approves this message 🙂



Dictating a letter, so much to do!

And thank you Sutter for being a good sport, it was our pleasure to meet you today!

Everyone Deserves Clean Water

Cross-posted from the CA League of Conservation Voters (CLCV) blog, Groundswell.

When I think of the basics for survival, a short list comes to mind – food, shelter, warmth, and water.  You could probably survive a couple of weeks without those first three things, but if you’re without drinkable water, you’d be lucky if you lasted half a week.

Here we live in a state that has a larger economy than most countries, yet the most basic need of so many Californians is not being met – access to safe, clean drinking water. 

In fact, according to the Department of Public Health, more than 11.5 million Californians rely on water from suppliers that experienced at least one violation of State Drinking Water Standards. As many as 8.5 million Californians rely on supplies that experienced more than five instances of unsafe levels in a single year. In the Central Valley and Central Coast regions, more than 90% of communities depend on groundwater for drinking while nitrate levels in groundwater are sometimes well above safe limits. Families unable to afford treatment or bottled water are left entirely without safe water, and are at particular risk of adverse health impacts from contaminated water supplies.

California needs to do better; thankfully Governor Brown agrees.

This past weekend Brown signed into law a package of bills known as the Human Right to Water Package.  In his statement about the bills, Brown said,

“Clean drinking water is a basic human right. The bills I have signed today will help ensure that every Californian has access to clean and safe sources of water.”

Thanks to the many people around the state who called or emailed their legislators and the governor in support of the bill package!

The Human Right to Water package looks at a number of ways that the state can help ensure communities are able to provide safe drinking water.  Here are 4 of the bills that CLCV worked on:

  • SB 244 (Wolk) – Requires local municipalities to include a plan to provide services to island or fringe communities when they update their general plans.
  • AB 938 (V.M. Perez) – Requires that public health notifications about water be made available in the languages the community speaks.
  • AB 983 (Perea) – Promotes small community water system consolidation to provide sustainable, affordable solutions where possible.
  • AB 1221 (Alejo) – Ensures access to funding to clean up contamination for disadvantaged communities.

To learn more about the human right to water package, visit our website: www.ecovote.org/water.