Posted on 08/01/2007 7:30:28 AM PDT by SmithL
In an emerging crisis for California's elderly and poor, all Medi-Cal funding will be halted this week to an estimated 500 hospitals throughout the state and 11,000 nursing homes, hospices and adult day care centers.
Medi-Cal funds have run out because of the state's monthlong budget impasse, forcing community programs and other facilities into a frantic scramble to cover their bills. Some care facilities for the aged are making plans to close.
California has nearly 6.8 million elderly, frail and chronically infirm Medi-Cal beneficiaries, and many would be forced to find help elsewhere, or make do on their own, without emergency funding from the state Legislature.
But help is unlikely because both the Senate and the Assembly would have to approve an emergency bailout, and the Assembly has gone on summer recess.
"We have not been cut off from Medi-Cal funding before so early in the fiscal year," said Lydia Missaelides, executive director of the California Association for Adult Day Services. "The magnitude of this crisis is overwhelming."
Medi-Cal coffers ran dry last week when the state was scheduled to issue $223 million to managed-care providers. Instead, checks for only $143 million were issued.
On Thursday, $227 million was scheduled to be paid to assorted hospitals, clinics and other providers of Medi-Cal services. No money will be paid.
"This is the perfect storm," said H.D. Palmer, spokesman for the state Department of Finance. "In the absence of an enacted budget, we don't have the authority to pay certain vendors."
Medi-Cal payment crises are nothing new to California, which has a long history of protracted budget battles. In 1998, the Legislature put into place a fail-safe measure allocating $2 billion to tide over Medi-Cal during a budget logjam. That cushion was expected to last two months whenever budget negotiations dragged on,...
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Ahhhh, the joys of socialized medicine!
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
***crickets***
Are there any illegals in this program?
And NOT because BILLIONS have been diverted to pay for Mexico's invaders - the money drain that no one speaks of.
Is the Pope German?
I work for a big city welfare department in California.
Illegals do not get “full” Medi-Cal coverage. (Medi-Cal is California’s version of Medicaid for the poor and disabled). If an illegal alien has a child here, the child is a citizen. If she applies for welfare for the child, the child will get Medi-Cal coverage. The mother will get what the state calls “emergency Medi-Cal” which covers emergency room visits and critical care, such as delivery. It does not cover routine medical exams or expenses.
In the county I work in, we have over 1200 illegal heads of households on welfare due to citizen children.
Boo-fricking hoo! I can’t afford ANY health care at all right now, partly due to the high cost of living in California, due in large part to all the taxes!!
yeah it does...cause they use the ER as a clinic for everything from sore throats, rashes coughs, aches and pains to medication refills.
If they end up with an "emergency" surgery...say gallbladder or appendectomy..open heart surgery...they don't pay the bill... walk away...easy, huh? ..you say they don't have follow up... they go back to the ER...and don't pay the bill. See how easy it is for the chumps thinking that medicine is a right. The best part is that those that need real emergency care are backed up by "clinic" patients.
All the Dems crying about "no health care for the poor" are full of sh#t.
It appears that something is being glossed over in the comments. Whatever the morality of medical welfare for the elderly or illegal aliens, the Democrat Party is doing something truly evil here. In the past, they have traditionally threatened that any budget “cuts” would result in cuts to police and fire services, as a means of extorting their way to passage of a democrat budget. That was evil enough. Now they are threatening to kill the elderly in California unless the budget is passed as they designed it. It’s again extortionate, and yet another perfect illustration of how low they will stoop to get their way.
What an excellent bit of information...sounds like medi-cal would still be going fine if not for that.
Actually, the state started this drawdown of MediCal funds a couple of years ago.
My mom was on MediCal to supplement her Medicare.
When she entered into a nursing home, the funds formerly used for her supplement were no longer available to her. She signed with Secure Horizons. They told us that because MediCal was paying a portion of the nursing home, they would no longer allocate funds to her as a supplement.
With the population aging .. the “free” care is beginning to have a huge effect on the budget. My mom was paying $825 a month for care at a skilled facility - the cost of the monthly care is $5300/mo. And .. that cost has ballooned to $5700/mo.
Doesn’t anybody see a problem with this ..?? With the baby-boom generation beginning to filter into the nursing homes, how many of them will have the funds to pay for their care?
I work at a nursing home, but we’re private pay.
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