Hot on the heels of California Gov. Jerry Brown's placing his signature on the California Dream Act part one (AB 130), he also affixed his name to a veto letter for AB 96. The latter would have kept seniors and disabled Californians from institutionalization. Why?
* AB 96 was a measure entitled "Keeping Adults Free from Institutions." It was the brainchild of Assembly member Bob Blumenfield, D-Woodland Hills. The bill attempted to pick up where soon-to-be unfunded adult day health care programs would leave California's seniors. A mix of transition fund and safety net, KAFI was to become a line item in the annual Budget Act, which all but guaranteed its funding.
* Gov. Brown vetoed AB 96 on Monday. In his letter to the legislature, the governor stated that "the bill would recreate, under a different name, the same Adult Day Health Care (ADHC) program that was eliminated as a Medi-Cal optional benefit through the 2011-12 Budget Act. While my Administration deeply shares the goal of 'Keeping Adults Free from Institutions,' creating a new ADHC look-alike program at this juncture is unnecessary and untimely." Brown further advised that his administration was working with centers, managed care plans and also community organizations to transition the affected seniors. He failed to enumerate the details of his involvement.
* The California Association for Adult Day Services issued a scathing press release that calls the governor's veto "insensitive and fiscally irresponsible." Executive director Lydia Missaelides points out that the failure of AB 96 affects 300 ADHC centers, 37,000 patients who benefit from their services and 7,000 jobs that will now be lost. Moreover, she points to recent anecdotal cases that show how nursing home placements and hospitalizations are the direct results of the closure of only 17 centers. Missaelides foresees nursing home placements of about 4,173 individuals and another 21,510 emergency room admissions within six months of program closure.
* The aftermath of KAFI's failure is worrisome. As pointed out by the California Health Line, adult day health care programs are instrumental in providing not just medical care and physical therapy but also socialization for seniors and the disabled. In the past the state apportioned $169 million on this service, while the federal government matched the funds. Granted, Brown did sign SB 91, which lets the centers operate without Medi-Cal licensing. Thus, theoretically, they could continue to function once Medi-Cal no longer foots the patients' bills; however, what good is an adult day health care center that is effectively de-funded?
Perhaps it is just my gradual descent into the golden years, but I cannot help but find it shameful that the State of California dishonors its seniors and disabled by taking away a viable alternative to institutionalization. Although Gov. Brown claims that he has other solutions in the works, it sounds a bit like a bird laying an egg and then frantically attempting to build a suitable nest for it before the egg splats to the ground.
Sylvia Cochran is a Los Angeles area resident with a firm finger on the pulse of California politics. Talk radio junkie, community volunteer and politically independent, she scrutinizes the good and the bad from both sides of the political aisle.
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