Budget Cuts May Get Stalled at the Waiver Request<\/i><\/p>\n
by Brian Leubitz<\/p>\n
The nasty budget that the Governor just signed included some MediCal cuts. Unfortunately for the legislators and the Governor, and perhaps fortunately for some Medi-Cal recipients, the cuts must be cleared by the federal government in order to continue receiving important federal funds. The problem is that the cuts are really far too deep, if allowed to proceed, Medi-Cal recipients would find it even more difficult to find a doctor that accepts Medi-Cal and get the services they need. In other words, it puts lives of Californians at risk.<\/p>\n
But that’s not the only issue, as there is always something to the political side of Medicaid. If it were a simple matter of acceptable cuts, this batch would probably not fit the definitions. But, in an article entitled “Liberal governor’s request for Medicaid cuts puts Democrats in tough spot”, the Hill points out that the administration might want to avoid poking Jerry Brown in the eye. Of course, you’ll need to take the Hill with a big grain of salt, as they called Jerry Brown a “liberal Governor.” You know, the guy who slashed our budget, that man is out of control with his liberal-ness.<\/p>\n
But I digress from the point:<\/p>\n
President Obama and congressional Democrats have been put in a tough spot by California Gov. Jerry Brown’s (D) request to cut Medicaid spending by 10 percent. <\/p>\n
Brown says he needs to make the cuts to the state Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, to ease his state’s severe budget woes. But advocates say cuts of that size would be devastating to California’s most vulnerable residents.<\/p>\n
The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) – and, by extension, the White House – must choose between helping a Democratic governor who has been a leader on healthcare reform and signing off on a policy that advocates say would be devastating to people with disabilities.
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CMS also has to weigh the potential fallout from the decision, because giving California carte blanche to make Medicaid cuts could open the floodgates for other states to make similar requests. (The Hill<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\nIn other words, this cut would ripple not only through California, but far beyond. Other states, seeing a chance to cut a big line item that they aren’t so fond of anyway, will come knocking on the federal doors. As goes California, so goes the nation, or something like that.<\/p>\n
But if Jerry Brown is the “liberal” here, well, might as well be Dennis Cardoza on the other side:<\/p>\n
“If the proposed cuts in the Medi-Cal rate go through,” Cardoza recently wrote to CMS Administrator Donald Berwick, “I am deeply concerned that [some] providers [of services for the disabled] will have no option other than to close their facilities.” <\/p><\/blockquote>\n
We risk losing many group facilities with these cuts. We risk losing many doctors with these cuts. Pharmacies may stop taking MediCal soon too. One more thing to consider: children with MediCal actually have a lower access to medical care than uninsured children<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Cutting Medi-Cal more at this time just means that this problem gets worse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Budget Cuts May Get Stalled at the Waiver Request<\/i><\/p>\n
by Brian Leubitz<\/p>\n
The nasty budget that the Governor just signed included some MediCal cuts. Unfortunately for the legislators and the Governor, and perhaps fortunately for some Medi-Cal recipients, the cuts must be cleared by the federal government in order to continue receiving important federal funds. The problem is that the cuts are really far too deep, if allowed to proceed, Medi-Cal recipients would find it even more difficult to find a doctor that accepts Medi-Cal and get the services they need. In other words, it puts lives of Californians at risk.<\/p>\n
But that’s not the only issue, as there is always something to the political side of Medicaid. If it were a simple matter of acceptable cuts, this batch would probably not fit the definitions. But, in an article entitled “Liberal governor’s request for Medicaid cuts puts Democrats in tough spot”, the Hill points out that the administration might want to avoid poking Jerry Brown in the eye. Of course, you’ll need to take the Hill with a big grain of salt, as they called Jerry Brown a “liberal Governor.” You know, the guy who slashed our budget, that man is out of control with his liberal-ness.<\/p>\n
But I digress from the point:<\/p>\n
President Obama and congressional Democrats have been put in a tough spot by California Gov. Jerry Brown’s (D) request to cut Medicaid spending by 10 percent. <\/p>\n
Brown says he needs to make the cuts to the state Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, to ease his state’s severe budget woes. But advocates say cuts of that size would be devastating to California’s most vulnerable residents.<\/p>\n
The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) – and, by extension, the White House – must choose between helping a Democratic governor who has been a leader on healthcare reform and signing off on a policy that advocates say would be devastating to people with disabilities.
\n
CMS also has to weigh the potential fallout from the decision, because giving California carte blanche to make Medicaid cuts could open the floodgates for other states to make similar requests. (The Hill<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\nIn other words, this cut would ripple not only through California, but far beyond. Other states, seeing a chance to cut a big line item that they aren’t so fond of anyway, will come knocking on the federal doors. As goes California, so goes the nation, or something like that.<\/p>\n
But if Jerry Brown is the “liberal” here, well, might as well be Dennis Cardoza on the other side:<\/p>\n
“If the proposed cuts in the Medi-Cal rate go through,” Cardoza recently wrote to CMS Administrator Donald Berwick, “I am deeply concerned that [some] providers [of services for the disabled] will have no option other than to close their facilities.” <\/p><\/blockquote>\n