Health & Welfare | Daily Report

CPCA

Scores of medical providers that rely on the Medi-Cal program for funding are now getting "value of claims" statements in lieu of payments.

The Medi-Cal agency ran out of funding for providers that typically see $300 million per month from the state, said Anthony Cava, a spokesman with the Department of Health Care Services, which runs Medi-Cal.

He said about $188 million of that typically goes to health clinics.

Carmela Castellano-Garcia runs California Primary Care Association, a nonprofit that represents about 800 of the state's health centers and clinics that serve about 4 million patients, mostly uninsured. She said the facilities tend to get half to 80 percent of their funding from the program for low-income residents.

Castellano-Garcia, president of the association, said funding cuts instituted last year and this year’s dire budget situation have left some clinics on the brink of closing their doors. Short of that, she said the budget shakiness leads to health worker layoffs and limits to services.

“We’re in cash-strapped and precarious circumstances to lose 50 to 80 percent of our revenue – that’s a devastating blow to the health care safety net,” Castellano-Garcia said.

Staff from the group walked the halls of the Capitol last week, handing out "You owe Us" statements to lawmakers, a riff on the IOUs that the clinics are getting.

While a glimmer of hope emerged yesterday with the state's top five leaders meeting, no budget fix has been announced.

"We need to get word out that we need governor and legislature to come to a budget that protects health care access," she said.

Castellano-Garcia said her organization and other groups cobbled together loan money for clinics, all of which has been applied for by the cash-strapped facilities. 

Medi-Cal officials have posted a frequently asked questions page for health providers.

Hospitals and nursing homes will continue to get their Medi-Cal payments as the 58-day budget stalemate drags on.

But many others on the list below will also be getting IOUs, according to the Department of Health Care Services:

• Adult day health care centers
• Assistive device and sick room supply dealers
• Blood banks
• Clinical laboratories
• Fabricating optical lab, Prison Industry Authority
• Home health agencies
• Ground medical transportation
• Genetic disease testing
• Rural health clinics and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs)
• Air ambulance transportation services
• Certified hospice service
• Free clinics
• Community clinics
• Chronic dialysis clinics
• Multi-specialty clinics
• Surgical clinics
• Exempt from licensure clinics
• Rehabilitation clinics
• County clinics not associated with hospitals
• Birthing centers – Primary care clinic
• Clinic – Otherwise undesignated
• Alternative birth centers – Specialty clinics
• Breast Cancer Early Detection Program (BCEDP), Every Woman Counts (EWC)
• Expanded access to primary care clinics
• Local education agencies
• Home- and community-based services – Nursing facility
• Employment agencies
• Personal care agencies
• Mental health inpatient
• Multipurpose Senior Services Program (MSSP)
• Tribal Health Program
• Genetically Handicapped Person Program, noninstitutional
• Genetically Handicapped Person Program, institutional
• Residential care facilities for the elderly
• Private nonprofit proprietary agencies