The
Republican Governor pledged to use his line item veto power to cut an
additional $700 million from the budget in order to win Senate Republican
support - who, with the exception of Sen. Abel Maldonaldo (Republican - Santa
Maria) [pictured left with the Governor in Santa Maria] have refused to vote
for the spending plan. The Governor has issued no specifics on
where he would use his line item veto power
He urged Senate Republicans to end the stand-off, saying that “I am calling on Republican senators to come together and pass this budget. I have committed to a zero operating deficit - I will use my executive authority to ensure fiscal responsibility in state spending.
Governor Tours Adult Day Health Center in Santa
Maria with Sen. Maldonaldo
Governor toured with Sen. Maldonaldo, the Santa Maria Wisdom Center, an Adult
Day Health Care Center, the only such facility in Santa Barbara County. The
Center will run out of reserves at the end of the month and does not have a
line of credit.
The Santa Maria Wisdom Center serves between 53-55 people a day and of those,
mostly of very low incomes. The Center in addition to about 30
seniors with Alzheimer. Some of their elderly travel as far as
an hour and half to receive these services. The Center also has recently
signed a contract to serve local veterans. There are over 70 veterans on
a waiting list to receive services from the Center but are on hold because of
the state budget impasse.
Adult day health care centers prevent or delay placement into nursing homes or
other more expensive care settings. This type of center is an organized
day program of therapeutic, social, and health activities and services to
provided to elderly persons with functional impairments, either physical or
mental, for the purpose of restoring or maintaining optimal capacity for
self-care. Centers also provide, on a short-term basis, adult day health
care serves as a transition from a health facility or home health program to
personal independence. On a long-term basis, they also serve as an
alternative option to institutionalization in long-term health care facilities
when 24-hour skilled nursing care is not medically necessary or viewed as
desirable by the recipient or their family. [Note: the California
Association of Adult Day Health Centers will be guests on the CDCAN Townhall
Telemeeting August 14, Tuesday afternoon between 1 and 2:30 PM]
Governor Visits Clinics and Programs in
Fresno
Schwarzenegger toured the Fresno area (represented by Sen. Dave
Cogdill who was not present and currently has opposed passage of the bduget) to
see how the late budget is impacting medical care for 40,000 Fresno-area
residents, touring the Bullard & Fresno Health Center, one of seven
clinics within the Sequoia Community Health Centers.
Due to the budget delay, Sequoia estimates that it has not received over one
million dollars with an additional $200,000, on average, every week the budget
impasse continues. Bullard & Fresno Health Center alone has not
received nearly $93,000. In order to maintain services and Sequoia’s
operational hours, some physicians have chosen to reduce their compensation
and not be paid for their hospital services. Additionally, nearly 30 vendors,
which include local small businesses, have agreed to continue providing
services and supplies to the clinics by deferring payment until the budget
crisis is resolved.
More than half of the patients served by Sequoia receive state funded services
and supports through programs like Medi-Cal and Healthy Families.
Bakersfield Senior Program Set to Close:
"Lost Faith in Government" Says Provider
The first of some 340 adult day service providers in California - who
serve over 38,000 seniors and adults with significant disabilities - announced
August 8th that it will close its doors as the direct result of the
California legislature’s failure to pass a budget. The facility, Chateau
D'Bakersfiled, in Bakersfield, depends entirely on state funding to provide a
wide range of services, from skilled nursing and medical supervision to meals
and physical, occupational and speech therapy, for up to 140 local seniors and
adults.Sam Mohan, who with his wife Anu, operates the Bakersfield program said
with apparent desperation that “We have been providing services to
participants without reimbursement for weeks. I’ve lost faith in government.
State
Controller John Chiang, the elected official responsible for paying the
state's bills, has been forced to withhold statewide $2.1 billion in state
payments for the month of August in addition to $1.1 billion in state
payments withheld that was due in July.The Governor's office and advocates, along with Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (Democrat - Los Angeles) and Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (Democrat - Oakland) said that people with disabilities, seniors and others could lose their certain critical and important services with funding cut off to 500 hospitals, 11,000 nursing homes, hospices and care centers.
Other Californians, the Governor's says, including
"...working families could be left without child care. Repairs to our
roads and levees could be delayed through the winter. Victimized women and
children won't have access to domestic-violence services and critical
personnel who screen sexually violent predators when they leave prison could
be lost."
"Health care clinic owners are digging deep into their reserves, taking
out high interest loans or shutting their doors; vulnerable patients are not
receiving the care they need; and staff and vendors are not getting paid"
the Governor said.
Some Community Programs Will Feel Impact Later
The 21 non-profit regional centers who have contracts with the
Department of Developmental Services to coordinate and fund many
community-based services for persons with developmental disabilities are
impacted too - though the impact will likely not be felt until about the end
of August. However many persons with developmental disabilities are in
programs or receive services, such as Intermediate Care Facilities, nursing
homes, adult day health programs not funded directly by regional centers that
will soon face possible reductions or closure depending on the provider.
Some services - such as Medi-Cal payments directly for doctors and pharmacies
must continue. Other payments, including SSI/SSP, and In-Home Supportive
Services are also not impacted by the budget delay because of federal law -
however the persons receiving those services or payments might be impacted
depending on other services they receive. See previous CDCAN report for
a full listing - or watch for the soon to be scheduled CDCAN Townhall
Telemeeting in the next day or so.
CDCAN Townhall Telemeeting Tuesday Focus on
Impact
A
CDCAN Disability Rights Townhall Telemeeting is set for Tuesday at 1:00 PM to
2:30 PM and will focus on the impact of the delayed budget on children and
adults with disabilities, mental health needs, seniors, persons with MS and
other health needs, low income families, workers and community organizations
across California.
Invited guest is Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency
Kim Belshe [pictured left] and also several advocates representing statewide
organizations. See CDCAN website at www.cdcan.us on more information.
The townhall is free - and can be accessed using any phone or high speed
internet connection and is open to anyone. Anyone can ask questions.
SUMMARY OF SOME PROVIDERS & SERVICES IMPACTED
The following is a list of some of the clinics and services impacted by the
budget delay, as reported by local newspapers (list compiled by Governor's
office and released today with additional information by CDCAN. All
stories below are also on the CDCAN website at www.cdcan.us):
Sequoia Community Health Centers CEO Dr. John Maffeo - Every Day "We're Hurting More And More": "'This is affecting every health clinic up and down the Valley,' said Dr. John Maffeo, CEO of nonprofit Sequoia Community Health Centers, which has seven clinics in the Fresno area. 'We need to get this thing resolved by this weekend. Every day that this doesn't get resolved, we're hurting more and more'...Sequoia's Maffeo said his clinic also had to tell vendors they wouldn't get paid until the state has a budget. Sequoia receives more federal money than most clinics, which provides some relief. Still, it relies on the $200,000 a week it gets from the state.'" (E.J. Shultz and Tim Bragg, "As Budget Waits, Valley Clinics Hang By A Thread," Fresno Bee, 8/10/07)
Tipton And Pixley Health Clinic Owner Linda Roberts - "Who Is Going To Serve These People?": "Linda Roberts, who owns two rural health clinics in Tipton and Pixley, reached her breaking point. She closed her for-profit business Thursday, laying off 42 employees and leaving hundreds of low-income residents without care. 'I have enough to pay employees through today - but no more,' she said on Wednesday. 'I've got to stop this hemorrhage'...Roberts said she missed a $30,000 check last Saturday and is due to miss another check this Saturday. Her clinic serves about 100 low-income residents a day, most of whom are on Medi-Cal. 'Who is going to serve these people?' she said. 'This is really a sad situation.'" (E.J. Shultz and Tim Bragg, "As Budget Waits, Valley Clinics Hang By A Thread," Fresno Bee, 8/10/07)
Clinica Sierra Vista CEO Steve Schilling - Expects "Services Cuts And Lay Offs" - :"'These legislators all talk a big line about health reform and how they want to help the uninsured and protect the safety net,' said Steve Schilling, Clinica Sierra Vista CEO. 'Well, we're the safety net.' Clinica will have to cut services and lay off employees if the budget isn't finalized in the next few weeks, Schilling said. The budget passed the Assembly, and the Senate will reconvene Aug. 20 if not called together sooner...Clinica is probably owed about $3 million from the government, Schilling said." (Emily Hagedorn, "Budget Impasse Pinches Local Health Agencies," Bakersfield Californian, 8/9/07)
Kern Medical Center CFO Fred Plane - Not Reimbursed For "$4,000 A Week In Interest": "Kern Medical Center, which gets a majority of its funds from Medi-Cal, is owed $4.8 million and, with each week, that amount grows by $700,000, said Fred Plane, interim chief financial officer. To get by, the county hospital is borrowing more money from the county general fund, which means it must swallow $4,000 a week in interest for which it won't be reimbursed, Plane said." (Emily Hagedorn, "Budget Impasse Pinches Local Health Agencies," Bakersfield Californian, 8/9/07)
Vista Community Clinic Interim ED Fernando Sanudo - "Close To Exhausting" Small Reserve: "'Seventy percent of the fees we collect are from Medi-Cal and Medi-Cal-related services, and we are having to dip into a small reserve that we use to cover uninsured patients," said Fernando Sanudo, interim executive director of the Vista Community Clinic in Vista. 'We're pretty close to exhausting them right now.' The Vista Community Clinic, which serves primarily underinsured and uninsured patients, has five offices in Vista and Oceanside. Sanudo said the clinic may have to borrow and review its operations to cut costs to make ends meet." (Edward Sifuentes, "Budget Delay Leads To Missed Payments," North County Times, 8/9/07)
Fillmore Convalescent Center Owner Eduardo Gonzalez - "We Are Hurting Really Bad": "'We are hurting really bad right now,' said Eduardo Gonzalez, owner of the Fillmore Convalescent Center in Ventura County, which has missed a $46,000 Medi-Cal payment due from the state...Of greater concern, Gonzalez said, are the center's 89 frail residents - most of whom get Medi-Cal aid - who are victims of the political bickering that has held up the budget. 'Whether it's Republicans or Democrats, at this point I think both parties are the problem,' he said Wednesday. 'And I believe that by not making arrangements for us to get paid, by not passing a budget, they are technically abusing the residents.'" (Harrison Sheppard, "Budget impasse takes toll," LA Daily News, 8/9/07)
Midway Care Medical Transportation General Manager Daniel Rojas - "It's Going To Put Us Out Of Business": "'I'm already living on borrowed time, as far as my bills, insurance and payroll,' said Daniel Rojas, general manager of Midway Care Medical Transportation, an Artesia company that shuttles about 300 dialysis patients from their homes or nursing facilities to treatment centers. Rojas, who employs 25 people, said 95% of his funding comes from the state. He is frantically trying to secure a bridge loan, but his prospects are uncertain. 'If this doesn't get settled by the 10th, I would have to shut the doors down,' Rojas said. 'It's going to put us out of business.'" (Evan Halper and Jordan Rau, "Pain Starts To Spread As State Shuts Its Wallet," Los Angeles Times, 8/3/07)
Fillmore Convalescent Center Owner Eduardo Gonzalez - "Unable To Pay Employees": "Eduardo Gonzalez, who with his wife owns the Fillmore Convalescent Center in Fillmore, said their food supplier may soon stop delivery. Of the home's 88 patients, 64 are on state-funded Medi-Cal. Unless a budget is passed within three weeks, Gonzalez said, he probably will be unable to pay his employees. 'Our resident staff should not be punished for what the Legislature is not able to do,' Gonzalez said." (Evan Halper and Jordan Rau, "Pain Starts To Spread As State Shuts Its Wallet," Los Angeles Times, 8/3/07)
Wheelcare Express Representative John Jones - "We Can Hold On For A Few Weeks, Maybe Two Weeks, That's All": "Disabled with diabetes and congestive heart failure, Joe Sumpter would die without dialysis. Too frail to take public transportation, the blind, 40-year-old San Francisco native relies on a special van to take him from his downtown home to a dialysis clinic near the Mission District...Sumpter and about 14,000 other poor, handicapped patients in California who depend on the special transportation could become early casualties of the state's budget impasse, which has forced a halt in Medi-Cal payments to such programs. 'We can hold on for a few weeks, maybe two weeks, that's all,' said John Jones of Wheelcare Express, which provides the fleet of vans that carry 400 Bay Area residents, including Sumpter, to medical appointments." (Elizabeth Fernandez, "Looming Impact Of Budget Impasse," San Francisco Chronicle, 8/3/07)
Bayview-Hunters Point Adult Day Health Center Director Cathy Davis - Holding Off Paying Bills "As Long As We Can": "'We live hand to mouth as it is,' said Cathy Davis, director of the Bayview-Hunters Point Adult Day Health Center, which receives $80,000 a month from Medi-Cal. Davis plans to begin negotiating with her food vendors, janitorial supply company and health insurance carrier to make it through the coming weeks. 'We'll hold off paying all our bills except to our employees as long as we can,' she said. 'Whoever we cannot pay, we won't pay them. Whatever I have to do, my center will stay open.'" (Elizabeth Fernandez, "Looming Impact Of Budget Impasse," San Francisco Chronicle, 8/3/07)
San Joaquin Community Hospital Spokesman Jarrod McNaughton - "Makes Us Dip Into Our Reserves": "'It definitely makes us dip into our reserves,' said Jarrod McNaughton, a spokesman for the San Joaquin Community Hospital in Bakersfield, where 25 percent of revenues come from Medi-Cal. The hospital did not receive $300,000 in payments due from the state this week." (Jennifer Steinhauer, "California Struggles To End Budget Deadlock," New York Times, 8/1/07)
Fresno Safe Harbor Adult Day Health Care Administrator Joanie Ballantyne - "Might Only Be Able To Last A Couple Weeks": "Joanie Ballantyne, administrator of Safe Harbor Adult Day Health Care in Fresno, said her center might only be able to last a couple of weeks running operations as normal. The center cares for 160 people, picking them up each day and providing them with health care and three meals before taking them home. With the center's reserves stretched, Ballantyne said she might be forced to dip into personal savings to make up for the delayed state payments: 'It just puts providers in a really, really uncomfortable position.'" (E.J. Schultz, "Budget Impasse Delays College Training," Fresno Bee, 8/1/07)