Could the longest budget stalemate in California history almost be over?
Here are the key health components of the latest budget compromise.
- The 10 percent cuts to Medi-Cal provider rates would remain until March 2009.
- Healthy Families premiums would increase.
- Supplemental Security Income cost-of-living increases to the elderly, blind and disabled would be eliminated.
- Funding for construction of seven new prison medical facilities and renovations at existing facilities would be denied.
On the bright side, this budget does not cut adult Medi-Cal dental benefits and scales back some health cuts found in previous revisions.
If you would like to dig through the proposed budget yourself, you'll find most of the compromises in Assembly Bill 88 and Assembly Bill 1781.
Next stop: Schwarzenegger's desk.
For more information about the cuts, read the posts:
Health leaders worry about fate of Medi-Cal (8/18/08)
Bakersfield nurse practitioner on TV (7/31/08)
Medi-Cal cuts impact people with private insurance too (7/28/08)
Tax hikes vs. funds for health care, education (7/9/08)
'Access to vital health care is at stake for all Californians' (6/20/08)
Mercy president: Budget cuts put lives at risk (6/3/08)
Calif. sued over Medi-Cal rate cuts (5/5/08)
Is health reform dead? (1/11/08)
