CDCAN
CALIFORNIA DISABILITY
COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK
DISABILITY RIGHTS
NEWS REPORT
#045-2006 April 27, 2006 Thursday
Advocacy Without Borders:
Connecting
people with disabilities & seniors to rights and unified
action
1225 8th
Street Suite 480 - Sacramento, CA 95814 916/446-0013 Fax:
916/446-0026
Marty Omoto - director email: martyomoto@rcip.com
website: www.cdcan.us
Breaking News - Assembly Health
Committee:
* AB 2607 Medi-Cal Managed Care Pilot Program Passes
10-3
* Calls For Two Step Process & Additional Legislative Approval
*
Mandatory Enrollment of People with Disabilities/Seniors Opposed by
Advocates
* AB 2979 Aging & Long Term Care Integration Pilot Bill Fails
5-3
SACRAMENTO
- The Assembly Health Committee took action this morning (April 27)
on two controversial bills - approving one offered by Assembly Democrats, and
rejecting the other proposed by the Schwarzenegger Administration, that call for
implementing different pilot programs in specific counties that would require
the mandatory enrollment of persons with disabilities and seniors who receive
Medi-Cal services into managed care health care programs.
The
committee approved by a vote of 10-3, AB 2607 by Assemblymember Hector De La
Torre (Democrat - Southgate) that calls for a two step process implementing a
Medi-Cal managed care pilot program, but firmly rejected by a vote of 5-3 the
Schwarzenegger Administration's legislation, AB 2979 by Assemblymember Keith
Richman (Republican - Northridge) that would authorize implementation of Aging
and Long Term Care Integration Pilot Programs in two counties.
Passage out of the 14 member Assembly Health Committee, chaired by
Assemblymember Wilma Chan (Democrat v- Oakland) requires 8 votes.
AB 2607, which was passed with
amendments to clarify the roles of various state agencies, was referred to the
Assembly Appropriations Committee for further action. AB 2979 remains in
the Assembly Health Committee and is eligible for a re-vote.
Gov. Schwarzenegger proposed last
year legislation as part of the State Budget that would have implemented an
Aging and Long Term Care Integration Pilot Program, but ran into resistance from
Democrats in both houses on the issue and was forced to drop it. The
Governor proposed the Aging and Long Term Care Integration Pilot Program again
in January as part of his proposed State budget for 2006-2007.
Disability Advocates Oppose Mandatory Enrollment of Persons with
Disabilities & Seniors
Disability advocates, including Protection and
Advocacy (PAI) and the Western Center on Law and Poverty, strongly opposed
passage of both bills largely because of the mandatory enrollment of people with
disabilities and seniors into managed care programs in the counties where pilots
would be implemented and urged a voluntary enrollment instead.
Some
senior advocates spoke in support of the Richman bill however, and union
advocates, primarily the SEIU, spoke in favor of the De La Torre
legislation, mentioning the two step process that required further legislative
approval of whether a managed health care plan was "ready" to provide care to
persons with disabilities and seniors - though expressed strong reservations
about mandatory enrollment of persons with disabilities and seniors into
Medi-Cal managed care health plans, and largely opposed the Richman bill, citing
a "weakened Medi-Cal system" due to low reimbursement rates to doctors,
hospitals and other Medi-Cal providers, and also In-Home Supportive Services
workers.
More details on these bills in a later CDCAN report
today.
CDCAN VOTE RECORD REPORT - ASSEMBLY HEALTH
COMMITTEE
Note: For today's hearing only, Assemblymembers De La
Torre and Mullin replaced Assemblymembers Cohn and Jones. All four are
Democrats. This is the preliminary vote record report for each bill this
morning.
AB 2607 - Medi-Cal Managed Care Pilot Program
Author: Assemblymember Hector De La Torre (Democrat - Southgate)
Action 04/2706: Passed 10-3 Assembly Health Committee with
amendments and referred to Assembly Appropriations Committee for further
action.
Voting AYE - 10
Democrats (10): Berg,
Chan, De La Torre, Dymally, Frommer, Lieu, Montanez, Mullin, Negrete McLeod,
Ridley-Thomas
Republicans (0): -none-
Voting NO -
3
Democrats (0): -none-
Republicans (3): Aghazarian, Nakanishi
and Richman
Not Voting, Absent or Abstain (1):
Democrats (0):
-none-
Republicans (1): Strickland
AB 2979 - Aging and Long Term Care Pilot
Program
Author: Assemblymember Keith Richman (R-Northridge)
[Schwarzenegger Administration proposal]
Action 04/2706: FAILED
passage 5- 3. Reconsideration for a re-vote granted.
Voting AYE - 5
Democrats (2): Berg and Montanez,
Republicans (3): Aghazarian,
Nakanishi and Richman
Voting NO -
3
Democrats (3): Dymally,
Frommer,and Mullin
Republicans
(0): -none-
Not Voting, Absent or Abstain:
Democrats (5):
Chan, De La Torre, Lieu, Negrete McLeod, Ridley-Thomas
Republicans (1):
Strickland
CDCAN Capitol News Reports and Alerts
These CDCAN Reports are
partially funded by a small grant from the USC UCEDD, Grant #90DD0540 from the
Administration on Developmental Disabilities. The opinions expressed or
content in these reports do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the
USC UCEDD.
The California Disability Community Action Network is a
non-partisan link to tens of thousands of Californians in every community,
including people of color, people of every type of disability, including people
with physical disabilities, people with developmental and other disabilities,
people with traumatic brain and other injures, people with mental health needs,
seniors, people with MS, Alzheimer's and others, and all of their families,
community organizations and providers, direct care and other workers, and other
advocates. These action alerts and news reports is for all of them.
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MANY
THANKS to Training Toward Self Reliance, UCP, California NAELA, Californians for
Disability Rights, Inc (CDR), CHANCE Inc, Parents Helping Parents, Arriba,
Strategies Toward Empowering People, Parents Helping Parents, Asian American
parents groups, Resources for Independent Living and many other Independent
Living Centers, several regional centers, People First chapters, IHSS workers,
other self advocacy and family support groups, developmental center families,
and hundreds of individuals including Bob Scrivano, Maureen Fitzgerald, Terri
Lantz, Christal Hopkins, Lisa Brown, Anna Wang, Dennis Dishaw, Bob Benson, David
Engberg, Connie Arnold, and so many others who through their support and
contributions, make the non-partisan CDCAN reports and townhall telemeetings
possible. Thanks also to partnerships and the good people with the State
Council on Developmental Disabilities, and also the Department of Health
Services, the Department of Developmental Services, Department of Social
Services and the CA Health and Human Services Agency and other agencies, and the
State Legislature and staff, the Legislative Analyst Office. Good people
who do good things can make a difference
together.