UCLA POLICY NOTE

 

UCLA Center for Health Policy Outlines Potential Impact of Governor’s Proposed Budget Cuts

Posted February 17, 2010

UCLA Center for Health Policy Research released a Policy Note commissioned by the SCAN Foundation that outlines the potential impact of the proposed cuts in the Governor’s budget, noting the proposal turns the clock back 30 years to a time when 5.4 % of seniors residing in a nursing home, compared with 2.7 % today. This decline in is attributed to IHSS and ADHC. Key points in Budget Proposals Turn Back Clock 30 Years in Long-Term Care Services for California Seniors are:

Governor Schwarzenegger’s 2010-2011 budget proposal recommends deep cuts to long-term services and supports available to low-income seniors and younger adults with disabilities.

The impacts of these proposed cuts could be devastating to some of the most vulnerable Californians. In particular:

• Deep cuts to In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) will leave almost 93% of all seniors currently enrolled without services; almost 87% of enrolled seniors who will lose benefits are cognitively impaired



• 37,000 seniors currently receiving Medi-Cal funded Adult Day Health Care (ADHC) will lose this benefit



• Cuts to the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Program (SSI/SSP) move this benefit for low-income Californians who are aged, blind or disabled to their lowest level in the history of the program, covering less than half of the basic cost of living for a single adult in the state



• Over 7,600 ADHC employees will lose their jobs and benefits and as many as 370,000 IHSS caregivers will lose their jobs and benefits or have their hours substantially reduced.

These cuts represent a substantial reversal in state policy emphasizing community-based long-term services and supports. If implemented, the result of these cuts will be:

• an increase in the number of vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities who have no reliable source for care in the community, forcing many to seek care in institutional settings who might have otherwise lived successfully in their own homes



• expected financial savings from these cuts will likely be eroded due to the increased use of safety net health services (e.g., emergency rooms), inpatient care, and nursing home care



• nursing homes and residential care facilities can absorb less than 10% of those who face losing their community-based benefits due to these cuts – there is a risk that there will not be enough nursing home beds for those who would need them as a result of the proposed cuts



• family and friends, already stretched in many directions, will have to make significant sacrifices to help fill the gap in services these budget cuts will make.