January, 2005
I have always had trouble living within a budget. At the conclusion of this holiday season, I find myself where I've been many times, totally broke. I love buying gifts for family and friends and no matter how many times I tell myself, I'll establish a spending limit for each gift, I consistently overspend. Yes,... I really did need that beautiful Christmas Angel for our tree. After all, she was fifty percent off. And my nieces, who have more outfits than Paris Hilton,... really did need those new sweaters.
It's really pretty depressing, but at least I know how much I spent and how much I'll have to adjust to make up for it. No matter how scary my personal finances are at the moment, I find waiting for the release of the Governor's proposed budget on January 10th much more frightening.
The State's new Finance Director Tom Campbell has estimated that California now faces a budget deficit of $8.1 billion. Keep in mind that's only a projected figure, up from only a month ago. Campbell is crafting what he calls an "honest" budget proposal that will include no new taxes, but will focus on cutting spending for government programs. He has acknowledged that one of the few places to cut spending without violating the State's Constitution or federal mandates, is in healthcare and social service programs.
California's Medi-Cal program was the focus of much of the budget cutting debate last year and it's once again in the limelight. The program provides healthcare to approximately 6.5 million low-income residents. Plans for its overhaul, the so-called "Medi-Cal Redesign" have already been postponed twice. Campbell has suggested that the Schwarzenegger Administration push for cuts in this program to curb the cost of its projected growth.
The Legislative Analyst Office estimates that the program spent $3220 per participant in 2004-05. Enrollment has jumped 20% over the last four years. Last year's budget proposal included eligibility changes that would have resulted in hundreds of people losing their healthcare. These same types of changes are expected to be part of Campbell's upcoming plan.
However, despite the fact that the Administration had stated that the Medi-Cal Redesign proposal would be part of the overall budget presented in January, Campbell recently told the media that the plan will not be ready, but savings from the plan will be reflected in the budget. Excuse me....What? Could you run that by me again? The plan is not done...but we can already assess the savings from it? Hmm....Can we also assess the impact of the "savings" on program recipients? Oh....yes....that's right....once we change the eligibility for the program, and force people off the rolls...it will be much easier to analyze the impact. Talk about Scary!
So, did I write this column to scare you? O.K. maybe just a little, but more to encourage you to pay attention to what's ahead. The budget fight will be just as intense as last year, but with even more ambiguity inherent in looming proposals like Medi-Cal Redesign and the California Performance Review. For the proposed or current budget visit http://www.dof.ca.gov .