More cuts could be on the way for the Medi-Cal program. State lawmakers have already approved a ten percent reduction in the rate Medi-Cal pays doctors. Now the governor wants lawmakers to consider some additional changes. KPBS Reporter Kenny Goldberg has more.
The Medi-Cal provider rate cut will save the state about half-a-billion dollars a year. The governor is looking for more savings. He'd like to eliminate a variety of Medi-Cal services, including optometry and dental care for adults. Barbara Mannino heads up Vista Community Clinic. She says such cuts would be terrible for Medi-Cal patients.
Mannino: Those people that need those services, they won't have access to them. So, they may have basic medical care, but they won't be able to see and they may not be able to chew.
Medi-Cal provides healthcare for about one in six Californians. The governor says all state programs must be cut to help California cope with a multi-billion-dollar budget deficit.
Kenny Goldberg, KPBS News.
