According to a breaking news story appearing in the Sacramento Bee, the state of California has announced a decision that will drastically increase spending on healthcare for low-income seniors, blind and disabled children and other state residents who rely on personal caregivers. In spite of its ongoing, dire financial situation, the state ‘s budget office has decided to multiply healthcare costs by slashing its In-Home Supportive Services care budget, which enjoys some federal support, forcing thousands of Californians to leave their homes and seek institutional care at state expense.
The Sacramento daily reported on September 18 that the state’s Department of Social Services will reduce or eliminate funds to provide in-home caregiver services for 130,000 Californians starting Nov. 1. About 97,000 recipients ranked as relatively capable will lose certain services, including housekeeping, meal preparation, shopping and errand assistance. Another 36,000 will lose all services. Those affected by the cuts will be notified by mail in early October, the Bee’s report stated.
The service reduction is part of changes the department is making after the most recent budget cuts. The governor’s office had estimated that the state could have saved up to $82.1 million through next June by cutting back the program’s services, though a two-month delay in implementing the changes was estimated to cut into those savings by about $16 million.
The program pays caregivers with a combination of federal, state and county money, as well as recipients’ out-of-pocket contributions. The state’s budget office said it did not take into consideration when making its decision the argument from social workers that pushing some or all of the 130,000 residents from private homes to nursing homes will result in a net increase to state expenditures. The office looked exclusively at the In-Home Supportive Services budget, without regard to the ripple effect cuts will have on other departmental budgets.
