UPDATED ACTION ALERT: Contact your CA legislator and urge them to protect Alzheimer families!
How does CA Governor Jerry Brown’s budget affect Alzheimer families?
Governor Brown’s proposal for the 2011-12 California state budget includes $12.5 billion in spending reductions, $12 billion in revenues and approximately $1.9 billion in borrowing and tax shifts. These proposals would close the $25.4 billion budget shortfall and create an additional $1 billion for a rainy day fund. So how does this affect Alzheimer families? The negative impact on Alzheimer families who are already struggling with the monetary and emotional costs of this disease cannot be understated. We urge legislators to consider all options, including revenue generation in order to reduce the magnitude of the proposed cuts to programs and services to our most vulnerable populations.
The good news:
The Governor is maintaining funding for the California Alzheimer’s Disease Program and the Caregiver Resource Centers.
The bad news:
The following eliminations and reductions would impact many families who are living with Alzheimer’s disease while causing an increase in costs to the state -primarily in nursing home and hospital expenditures in Medi-Cal, both of which are much more costly than home and community-based services:
- Elimination of Adult Day Health Care, which would leave 37,000 beneficiaries without the vital services the program provides.
- Elimination of Multipurpose Senior Services Program (MSSP), which provides case management services to elderly clients who qualify for placement in a nursing facility but wish to remain in the community.
- Reduction of $486.1 million to the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, resulting in approximately 300,000 IHSS recipients living with their provider being ineligible for domestic services in addition to an 8.4% reduction in service hours among other cuts. However, in preparing for implementation of health care reform, the Governor proposes shifting certain Medi-Cal services now administered by the counties back to the state in order to ensure better coordination of all Medi-Cal services – this would bring IHSS back to the state.
- Reductions to the Medi-Cal program which would limit access to durable medical equipment and supplies and prescriptions (except life-saving drugs) to 6 per month and doctor visits to 10 per year.
What you can do:
Contact your state legislator and tell them how the Governor’s proposed budget will affect Alzheimer families. Just click here to email your state legislator with a personalized email: http://bit.ly/g04gmu
