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The Californian

February 3, 2010

Community column: State must avoid Groundhog Day syndrome

The state budget has everyone using the phrase "Groundhog Day." It's California's Groundhog Day, they exclaim. Their tone is one of humor tinged with exasperation. They aren't referring to the national holiday in which a large rodent is supposed to predict the length of the seasons, but instead to the Bill Murray film in which he re-lives a bad day. The point being that California is just re-living all of the same budget problems. The message: Here we go again.

Actually, the message is much more serious for people with disabilities. It isn't about following the same path. It's about choosing a much more dangerous one.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed the same cuts to the In Home Supportive Services Program as last year. He would limit IHSS services to people with a functional index score of 4.0 and higher, eliminating services for 87 percent of recipients. He also would limit wages and benefits to $8.60 an hour. A federal judge blocked the state from making those cuts last year. The budget is based on the assumption that the state will win those lawsuits.

The proposal contains cuts to the minimum monthly grant levels for the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment Program. The proposal would reduce minimum SSI/SSP grants for individuals from $845 to $830 per month, the minimum amount allowed by federal law. If approved, the cut will go into effect June 1. The monthly grant for couples is already at the federal minimum; the state can't reduce it.

Additionally, the governor proposes to eliminate the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants effective June 1. The program provides cash assistance for seniors and people with disabilities who are legal immigrants but who are not eligible for SSI/SSP grants because of their immigration status.

Medi-Cal: The governor proposes $750 million in cuts to Medi-Cal. There is little detail available on actual cuts, only language about imposing limits on services, increased co-payments, premiums or both. Adult Day Health Care benefits which were reduced to three days a week would be eliminated completely effective March 1.

Cal Works: The monthly grant payments will be reduced by 15.7 percent effective June 1.

The scariest part of the governor's budget is his "automatic trigger mechanism." The "trigger" refers to the governor's request for $6.9 billion in "assistance" from the federal government. The assistance would be reimbursements and program reforms. A whole new series of program cuts would automatically go into effect if the state does not receive that money. These include:

  • Elimination of CalWORKS
  • Elimination of IHSS
  • Elimination of the Healthy Families Program
  • Reduction of Medi-Cal eligibility to the minimum allowed by federal lawMost experts agree there is no way California will receive $6.9 billion from the feds. That would be a stretch even in a good economy. The governor's request is instead simply a way to make cuts without having to take the blame.

Remember, the governor's budget is a proposal, not the final word. Legislators and advocacy groups have a chance to weigh in. We simply cannot continue cutting programs without deciding how to bring more money into California. Even the governor understands that. He has proposed a tax on oil production of 9.9 percent. Did you know California has the nation's lowest tax on oil production? I didn't; not until I forced myself to learn about ways we can dig ourselves out of this mess. If we don't, it really will be Groundhog Day — over and over again.

Denika Boardman is the systems change coordinator for Central Coast Center for Independent Living. She writes a monthly column on "Disability Awareness" that appears in Opinion. Contact her at 757-2968 or e-mail her at dboardman@cccil.org.