Brown Highlights Budget, Health Care in State of the State Address January 25, 2013 Health Care Reform, Medi Cal, Medicaid, News State of State 2013, ACA, Affordable Care Act, Governor Brown, Medi-Cal expansion 0 Governor Jerry Brown promoted his fiscal year 2013-2014 budget proposal and discussed several state health care initiatives in In his State of the State address yesterday. Budget Comments Earlier this month, Brown released his budget plan. He said that if implemented, the proposal would leave the state with a budget surplus of $851 million. The plan projects $98.5 billion in revenue and transfers, and it estimates $97.7 billion in spending. Brown's plan includes an expansion of Medi-Cal to individuals with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level. The expansion—included in the Affordable Care Act—is expected to add up to 1.5 million newly eligible adults to the program. The budget plan also includes a 4.9% funding increase for In-Home Supportive Services—with an assumption that the state will implement a 20% reduction in IHSS service hours in November—and a $142 million funding increase for Cal-WORKs, the state's welfare-to-work program In addition, the budget proposal allocates $1.6 billion for a court-appointed federal overseer to manage continued improvements in the state's prison health care system. Health Care Comments Discussing the Medi-Cal expansion, Brown called the initiative "incredibly complex" and said it will "test our ingenuity" and "will not be achieved overnight." He said, "Given the costs involved, great prudence should guide every step of the way." Brown also said that the state must develop "the right relationship with the counties" to successfully implement the expansion. Brown also called for a special session of the Legislature beginning next week that will focus on implementing ACA provisions. Source: California Healthline, January 25, 2013. Comments are closed.
