Support Needed for Adult Day Health Services

In California, Adult Day Health provides health care, nutritious meals, physical and speech therapy, and socialization for 34,000 frail seniors and people with disabilities as a Medi-Cal benefit.  Medi-Cal is California’s Medicaid program, a public health insurance program for low-income Californians.

In March of 2011, the budget agreement that was passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor eliminated Adult Day Health services as a Medi-Cal benefit.  This cut is set to take effect on October 1, 2011.

The legislature and Governor have allocated $85 million (half of the yearly cost to run the Adult Day Health Care program) to transition existing recipients into other services.   It is not clear how many of the over 300 centers, 7,000 employees and 34,000 recipients will be able to continue in a new model of Adult Day Health Care with State general funding cut by 50%.  California currently does not have a plan in place for how Adult Day Health Care recipients would be transitioned to receive other services.  Eleven of the 300 Adult Day Health Care centers in the state (including one in San Francisco) have closed as of today.

That is why advocates are asking the Governor to sign AB 96 , authored by Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield (D, Woodland Hills), a bill that would direct the CA Department of Health Care Services to develop and implement a new model of Adult Day Health Care.  AB 96 would:

• Direct the State Department of Health Care Services, on or before September 1, 2011, to submit an application to the federal government to implement the Keeping Adults Free from Institutions (KAFI) program.  KAFI will provide services for recipients of adult day health care who are at the greatest risk of institutionalization.
• Establish that the KAFI program shall utilize licensed adult day health centers to provide services for Medi-Cal beneficiaries who have been assessed to be at significant risk of institutionalization.

AB 96 is on Governor Brown’s desk, and he has until July 26, 2011 to veto or sign the bill.  The California Association for Adult Day Services is asking people around the state to contact the Governor and ask him to sign AB 96.  They suggest using the following language:

“Please sign AB 96 to preserve services at existing Adult Day Health centers and avoid harm that would come from any gaps in patient care.”

Click here for Governor Brown’s contact information.

If you’d like more information about this issue, check out this story from California Healthline.