Brown Budget Plan & Loss of MCO Tax

When Gov. Jerry Brown (D) unveils his fiscal year 2016-2017 budget proposal on Thursday, one of the big unknowns may be answered —- what he plans to do about the pending loss of the MCO tax and the $1.1 billion hole it leaves in the budget.The managed care organization tax is due to expire June 30, 2016. The state imposed a 3.9% tax on revenue generated by health plans through Medi-Cal managed care and received federal matching funds for the MCO tax. The state then reimbursed the MCOs.

Editorial: Wake Up California!

It’s shameful that California’s elected leaders have let 2015 go by without taking care of our most vulnerable fellow citizens. We must not allow that to happen again in 2016.

Those with developmental disabilities deserved an increase in funding for the services they receive through the state. They, through the Lanterman Coalition, pleaded for an immediate 10 percent funding hike this year to end the slide in services, followed by a restructuring of the funding system to make it sustainable.

The money was and is there. State coffers are awash in revenue. But state leaders are ignoring the need.

California Programs Still Struggling

After almost nine months of pressuring lawmakers to find a way to increase money for programs and services for Californians with developmental disabilities, organizations, parents and those who support people with special needs were left Monday with no answers.

Both the regular and special sessions that ended Friday would have allowed legislators to vote on several proposed bills that would have drawn on new taxes to boost funds for programs for the developmentally disabled.

Californians Protest for More Funding

LOS ANGELES -- In what they called a last desperate plea, more than 100 protesters gathered in front of state Sen. Kevin de Leon’s district office Tuesday to press him and other lawmakers to boost funding for programs for those with developmental disabilities.

Demonstrators, including those with special needs, were joined by supporters from the San Fernando Valley, Pasadena and all over East Los Angeles. The protesters lined West Sunset Boulevard holding signs that said: “Fair Funding!” and “Save our Services!”

Opinion: California Must Do Better

While I have certainly made known my opinion about how badly off-target government expenditures and programs are, my eyes were really opened this year while working on the state budget and specifically, programs serving our most vulnerable population -- Californians with developmental disabilities. To me, this issue serves as a representative microcosm of just how wrong and dangerous government "solutions" can be.

The good news here is that people with developmental disabilities -- autism, intellectual disability, epilepsy, cerebral palsy and others -- enjoy bipartisan empathy. However, I have learned that our visions for supporting this population are radically different, with the Democrats' and Gov. Jerry Brown's plan resulting in millions of wasted taxpayer dollars and the placing of this population in serious harm's way.

Brown Request to Cut Medicaid Puts White House In Difficult Position

From Healthwatch, The Hill's health care blog.

President Obama and congressional Democrats have been put in a tough spot by California Gov. Jerry Brown's (D) request to cut Medicaid spending 10 percent.
Brown says he needs to make the cuts to the state Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, to ease his state's severe budget woes. But advocates say cuts of that size would be devastating to California's most vulnerable residents.

California Budget Slashes Services

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Poor people will receive less medical care and welfare, disabled people will see fewer services, state parks will close and public university students will pay more in California under the budget that takes effect Friday.

California Agency Faces Financial Crisis

PETALUMA, Calif. -- Jay Brown and Gary Hament rave about the help that Old Adobe Development Services have provided them, so they didn't hesitate to participate in a grassroots effort this year seeking to reduce proposed state budget cuts that would have severely cut services for people with intellectual and development disabilities.
Brown and Hament felt empowered after Gov. Jerry Brown released a revised budget in March reducing these cuts to $174 million, but they remain concerned because the very existence of OADS could be threatened if statewide tax initiatives are not extended.
"I feel that people with disabilities are really being put under pressure: It's falling on all of us," Hament said. "Through our efforts, we found that we can actually make changes happen. I hope that the cuts won't be as severe as originally thought."

Opinion: Cutting Funds for Supported Employment Programs Poses a Higher Cost

Compelling argument by Cameron Haste, chief operations officer of Bay Federal Credit Union and a HOPE Services board member, in the San Jose Mercury News.

In this challenging time, state funds need to provide an effective return on investment. Cuts to the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) continue to threaten job placement programs that get individuals with developmental disabilities employed -- and when these cuts occur, we increase these individuals' reliance on state funding.
In a study released by Kent State University in March 2010, researchers demonstrated the cost-efficiency of supporting employment for people with severe disabilities.
Another study published in the Tash Journal showed that hiring these individuals returned an average monthly net benefit to taxpayers of $251 (or an annual net benefit of $3,016 per supported employee) and generated a benefit-cost ratio of $1.46 for every dollar spent.

California Families Fear Proposed Cuts

BRAWLEY, Calif. -- Seventy-one-year-old mother of five Maria Elena Miranda doesn’t know what will her happen to her youngest daughter, Cynthia, if the state cuts deeper into funding for programs that help her family.
Cynthia, a 31-year-old Brawley resident, is developmentally disabled, blind, has epileptic seizures, osteoporosis and is immobile due to cerebral palsy contracted at just 3 months old. She was born barely alive, her mother said.
Miranda said the free services her daughter receives from Imperial Valley Respite and other in-home services has helped her daughter live longer.
"I'm 71 years old. What am I going to do if they take these services away from us?" the concerned parent said in Spanish.
The Miranda family is just one of many Valley residents who are concerned with the proposed $750 million cuts by Gov. Jerry Brown to the general fund of the state Department of Developmental Disabilities.

Budget Cuts Threaten California Family's Ability to Support Special Needs Children

CORNING, Calif. -- Dan Steigman and his wife had depended on the HIPP or Health Insurance Premium Payment Program to reimburse them for most of their medical needs.
But due to state budget cuts, he hasn't received any money from the program since June.
He's already out more than $1,200 dollars and even worse he just found out in an email that he might not get a reimbursement check until November.