California’s Medi-Cal program will likely get an infusion of more than $10 billion in federal stimulus funds after the state Legislature this week moved to roll back new eligibility requirements that were aimed at trimming Medi-Cal rolls.
However, state and local health care advocates say the money does nothing to save Medi-Cal optional benefits — such as adult dental services — placed on the chopping block when the state budget was signed last month.
Under legislation by Sen. Elaine Alquist, D-San Jose, the state will eliminate the new requirement that parents report their children’s Medi-Cal eligibility twice a year. The state will go back to annual eligibility reporting.
Chris Patterson, a spokesman for the California Primary Care Association, said the state changed the eligibility requirements last summer to save about $100 million.
But that’s a fraction of what it stands to gain under one aspect of the federal stimulus package, which would increase the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage, or FMAP.
The federal government currently provides a 50-50 match in funds toward Medi-Cal. The $10 billion in extra FMAP funds would bring the federal government’s share up to about 60 percent.
“That extra money helps support new people who are now eligible for Medi-Cal,” said Pedro Toledo, a spokesman for the Redwood Community Health Coalition, a network of clinics and community health centers in Sonoma, Napa, Marin and Yolo counties.
“In the Santa Rosa area alone, it’s about 25 new (Medi-Cal) patients a week at the clinics,” he said, adding that Sonoma County community clinics currently serve about 42,000 Medi-Cal patients.
The move to roll back Medi-Cal eligibility requirements is one of a number of steps being taken to change state laws to satisfy legal requirement under the $787 billion stimulus package.
But Toledo and Patterson warned that the state is still anticipating falling short of what it needs in other federal stimulus funds to stave off more cuts under the recent state budget agreement. Aside from adult dental services, other Medi-Cal optional benefits at risk include mental health services, podiatry and vision services.
Under the budget agreement, the state must receive at least $10 billion in direct state aid targeted for budgetary relief from the stimulus package to avoid almost $1 billion in additional cuts and an added $1.8 billion tax increase. But the state expects to get $8 billion.
The $10 billion in additional Medi-Cal spending made available by the eligibility change does not qualify as budgetary relief under the compromise budget package approved by the state.
“FMAP doesn’t get us to that $10 billion unfortunately,” Patterson said. “It helps, but it’s not enough.”
You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 521-5213 or martin.espinoza@
pressdemocrat.com.
