Government
Calif. governor seeks Medicaid pay cuts
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Jan. 28, 2008
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger -- facing a projected $14.5 billion budget deficit by June 2009 on a fiscal 2008-09 budget of $112 billion -- proposed a 10%, across-the-board spending cut. That includes $1.1 billion from the state's Medicaid program, Medi-Cal. This would trigger a loss of $1 billion in federal funds and a 10% cut in physician pay, said California Medical Assn. spokeswoman Karen Nikos.
CMA President Richard Frankenstein, MD, said the governor's proposed budget would move the state in the opposite direction of the health system reform proposal still under consideration by the Legislature. "These cuts will force doctors out of this important program, will force hospitals and clinics to close their doors and will force tens of thousands of patients to get their care in emergency rooms," he said.
Schwarzenegger also is proposing a budget stabilization act that would trigger automatic cuts if one of the California Dept. of Finance's three revenue projections predicts a deficit. "We simply cannot have a budget system where revenues and spending are not tied together. We must rise to the challenge and fix California's budget system once and for all," he said.
The act would require approval by referendum.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/01/28/gvbf0128.htm.
