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California Rulings: State Can Cut Medi-Cal Benefits But Not Home Care Wages
"A federal judge on Thursday blocked a $2 hourly wage cut for California in-home care workers that was slated to begin July 1, potentially increasing California"s budget deficit by another $98 million," The Sacramento Bee reports. In an oral injunction, the judge ordered the state "to continue paying up to $12.10 in wages and benefits to In-Home Supportive Services workers, according to parties on both sides of the suit. As part of the February budget deal, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature approved a cut to $10.10 per hour - $9.50 in wages and 60 cents in benefits." The lawsuit was filed by The Service Employees International Union, which represents IHSS workers. "IHSS advocates say the system saves the state money because recipients would otherwise use more costly care provided by nursing facilities. But the Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes this year also found that the IHSS program lacks sufficient oversight and suffers from fraud and abuse" (Yamamura, 6/26).

FDA Warns Web Sites Against Marketing Fraudulent H1N1 Flu Virus Claims
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is enforcing the laws that protect consumers from illegal products marketed through the Internet that claim to diagnose, prevent, mitigate, treat or cure the 2009 H1N1 flu virus.
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California's Struggle With Insurance Exchanges Offers Lesson For National Reform
California"s experience with insurance exchanges could prove a valuable lesson for the nation"s flirtation with such pools for covering large numbers of people, The Wall Street Journal reports.
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California Official Details Proposed Health Care Cuts In Schwarzenegger's Budget Plan

California Department of Finance Chief Deputy Director Ana Matosantos on Tuesday discussed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger"s (R) plans to address the state budget deficit in part by cutting Medi-Cal spending and eliminating Healthy Families, the Sacramento Bee reports. Medi-Cal is California"s Medicaid program, and Healthy Families is the state"s version of CHIP. Matosantos spoke at a Joint Legislative Budget Committee hearing (Yamamura, Sacramento Bee, 5/27).The suggested cuts to health care programs are part of the governor"s proposal to address the state"s projected $24.3 billion budget deficit for fiscal year 2009-2010 (Wiegand, Sacramento Bee, 5/23). Schwarzenegger last week outlined two budget proposals to address the state"s budget problems. One of the proposals addressed the situation if California voters approved a set of special ballot measures intended to provide funds for FY 2009-2010 (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 5/18). However, voters last week rejected five of the six measures on the May 19 statewide ballot, including three propositions that would have let the state use special accounts for mental health services and early childhood education (Yi/Buchanan, San Francisco Chronicle, 5/20). The state would have faced a $15.4 billion budget deficit if voters had approved the measures (Ellis/Schultz, Fresno Bee, 5/20). Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders were scheduled to begin closed door budget negotiations on Tuesday, and a small group of state senators and Assembly members will hold a series of public sessions on the budget on Wednesday (Bailey, Los Angeles Times, 5/20). Democrats scheduled a press conference for Tuesday to announce their timeline for passing a budget, and Republicans also are set to release their plans for advancing a budget agreement.The San Francisco Chronicle reports that California will not have sufficient cash on hand to make some payments by late summer if a budget agreement is not reached quickly (Wildermuth, San Francisco Chronicle, 5/20). Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. © 2009 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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