Services across the board were affected when Gov. Schwarzenegger signed the state budget in July. Primary and secondary education were affected, furlough days remained the same at three per month and 14 paid holidays were removed from the state calendar. Also feeling the pinch of the state budget crisis however, is the health services sector.
Medi-Cal, the state health service for low-income individuals and families, realized a loss of $1.4 billion which went into effect immediately after the governor put pen to paper.
According to Anthony Cava, deputy press secretary for the Department of Health Care Services, specific services have been eliminated from the Medi-Cal system such as psychological, adult dental and speech therapy services, to name a few.
“The elimination of these services saved the state $110 million, and the reduction of several other services saved an additional $1.3 billion,” Cava said. “But we have to realize that Medi-Cal also takes up 14.6 percent of the state’s total budget.”
In-Home Support Services (IHSS) is another health sector affected by the recent budget signing. IHSS benefits are given to those who are over 65 years of age, blind or disabled and children who are blind and disabled.
David Oster, a 35-year-old Medi-Cal recipient in Torrance, worries about his health now that his services have been eliminated.
“Before she came, this place was a whole mess,” Oster said. “My worker helped clean up the mess, we worked on that together.”
According to John Wagner, director of the California Department of Social Services, these and other changes will take effect Nov. 1.
“An estimated 97,000 individuals will see their services reduced while an additional 36,000 recipients will unfortunately lose their benefits altogether,” Wagner said. “The loss will be dependent upon each individual’s needs assessment.”
Lawsuits have been filed, however, to stop the $82 million cuts from IHSS by recipient advocates.
“What they’re doing is terrible,” said Jane Ditters, an IHSS advocate. “We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”