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Last updated January 1, 2014

Medi-Cal Cuts

Balancing California's budget by cutting essential services to disableds and seniors

Melissa Kaplan, 12/1/2003

Over the past year, the state Assembly and Governor have been using Medi-Cal cuts to help reduce the deficit. Among other things, this has resulted more TARS being required as pharmacists are no longer permitted to dispense a full month's supply of many drugs, forcing Medi-Cal recipients to use up their allotted six prescriptions a month to getting their artificially split prescriptions refilled. This is being done on maintenance medication, such as thyroid medicine, as well as on medications prescribed for acute and short-term conditions.

Most recently, In-Home Support Services (IHSS) has been cut. Now, any Medi-Cal recipient who lives with a spouse, child or parent will no longer eligible for IHSS services. This applies even to those Medi-Cal recipients whose spouse, child or parent is incapable of providing adequate care, either because they themselves are too ill, or because they are forced to work overtime, or at more than one job, in the effort of trying to make ends meet.

For those who are still eligible for IHSS, IHSS will no longer be allowed to pay for caregiver hours allocated to cooking, shopping, or housecleaning of any kind.

You can call the Governor's office and let them know what you think. Call the toll free number, 888-780-9275, and press 8 in response to the voicemail instructions. If you would rather write (or fax) the Governor:

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-445-4633
governor@governor.ca.gov

Don't stop there - let your other elected representatives know how you feel about this. The following are the state assembly and senate members from the central Sonoma County area. To find your assemblyman and senator, go to www.assembly.ca.gov and follow the Find My District link.

Most state and federal congressional representatives have switched to using form-based email that you can only access through their websites. If no actual email address is indicated below for a senator or assemblyman, you will need to go to the individual's website to send a web-based email.

Assemblywoman Patty Berg
Assembly District 1 (includes Cloverdale, Forestville, Graton, Healdsburg, Occidental, Windsor)

State Capitol
Room 2137
Sacramento, CA 94249-0001
(916) 319-2001
Fax: (916) 319-2101

235 Fourth Street, Suite C
Eureka, CA 95501
(707) 445-7014
Fax: 707-445-6607
50 "D" Street Suite 450
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
(707) 576-2526
Fax: 707-576-2297
104 West Church Street
Ukiah, CA 95482
(707) 463-5770
Fax: 707-463-5773

 

Assemblyman Joe Nation
Assembly District 6 (includes Glen Ellen, Cotati)

State Capitol
Room 3013
Sacramento, CA 94249-0001
(916) 319-2006
Fax: (916) 319-2106

 

50 D Street, Suite 305
Santa Rosa, CA 95409
(707) 576-2631
Fax: (707) 576-2735
3501 Civic Center Dr. Room 412
San Rafael, CA 94903
(415) 479-4920
Fax: (415) 479-2123
 

 

Assemblywoman Patricia Wiggins
Assembly District 7 (includes Santa Rosa)

State Capitol
Room 4016
Sacramento, CA 94249-0001
(916) 319-2007
Fax: (916) 319-2107

 

1040 Main Street, Suite 101-A
Napa, CA 94559
(707) 258-8007
50 "D" Street Suite 301
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
(707) 546-4500
Fax: (707) 546-9031
640 Tuolumne Street, Suite B
Vallejo, CA 94590
Phone: (707) 649-2307
Fax: (707) 649-2311

 

Senator Wesley Chesbro
Senate District 2 - Northern Sonoma County

State Capitol
Room 5100
Sacramento, CA 94249-0001
(916) 445-3375
Fax (916) 323-6958

 

1040 Main St., #205
Napa, CA 94559
(707) 224-1990
Fax (707) 224-1992

50 "D" St. Suite 120-A
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
(707) 576-2771
Fax (707) 576-2773

 

P.O. Box 785
Ukiah, CA 95482
(707) 468-8914
Fax (707) 468-8931
710 E Street, #150
Eureka, CA 95501
(707) 445-6508
Fax (707) 445-6511
444 Georgia Street
Vallejo, CA 94590
(707) 648-5312
Fax (707) 648-5383

 

Senator John Burton
Senate District 3 - Southern Sonoma County

State Capitol
Room 205
Sacramento, CA 94249-0001
(916) 445-1412

 

3501 Civic Center
Room 425
San Rafael, CA 94903
(415) 479-6612
455 Golden Gate Ave. Suite 14800
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 557-1300
 

 

For complaints about the planned cuts to Medicare in 2004, as well as about Sonoma County still classified as a rural county, and so subject to lower reimbursement rates than urban counties (such as the rest of the Bay Area), contact:

Rep. Lynn Woolsey

1101 College Ave
Suite 200
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
(707) 542-7182
Fax: (707) 542-2745

1050 Northgate Dr, Suite 140
San Rafael CA 94903
(415) 507-9554
Fax: (415) 507-9601


Sen. Barbara Boxer
1700 Montgomery Street, Suite 240
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 403-0100
(415) 956-6701 fax

 

Sen. Dianne Feinstein
One Post Street, Suite 2450
San Francisco, CA 94104
(415) 393-0707
Fax (415) 393-0710

This article is available in PDF format...

 


Related Sites

California State Assembly

California State Senate

In-Home Support Services (IHSS)

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

Medicare

Family caregivers may become ineligible for state payroll (Press Democrat 04/06/2004)

http://www.anapsid.org/cnd/activism/budgetcuts.html

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