SACRAMENTO, CA – May 26, 2015 – The Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) join the California Hospital Association and a broad-based coalition of Medi-Cal providers, known as We Care for California, in urging the Legislature and Administration to eliminate the Assembly Bill 97 (2011) Medi-Cal reimbursement rate cuts, and increase Medi-Cal payments to health care providers and facilities during the upcoming State Budget negotiations.
“Access to healthcare services in the more remote parts of California is already an issue, and these Medi-Cal reimbursement rate cuts only exacerbate it,” said Lee Adams, RCRC Chair and Sierra County Supervisor. “These cuts pose a real threat to California’s rural residents’ ability to receive basic medical services.”
AB 97, a 2011-12 State Budget Trailer Bill, was passed by the Legislature and approved by Governor Brown in 2011. The measure cut rates to a variety of Medi-Cal providers, including Distinct Part/Skilled Nursing Facilities (DP/SNFs), pharmacies, and other fee-for-service Medi-Cal activities by 10 percent off of the 2008 reimbursement rates. Payment reductions of this scale threaten the accessibility of services to individuals who reside in rural and already medically underserved areas. While specialty services, acute care hospitals, and DP/SNFs are particularly threatened in rural areas under the cuts, the 2011 Medi-Cal rate cuts have had a snowball effect on the entire rural healthcare industry.
On June 2, 2015, We Care for California is sponsoring a rally at the Capitol to urge the Legislature and the Administration to eliminate the AB 97 Medi-Cal rate cuts, and increase Medi-Cal payments during the upcoming State Budget negotiations. This rally is important to healthcare efforts statewide, but especially crucial to the future of healthcare in California’s rural communities, where access to care is already critically short in some areas. The Legislature must pass a State Budget for the 2015-16 fiscal year by June 15, 2015, and send it to the Governor for his action. The 2015-16 State Budget will take effect July 1, 2015.
Source: Rural County Representatives of California
California's Rural Counties Urge Legislature to Eliminate Medi-Cal Rate Cuts
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