As of July 1st 2009 Medi-Cal (the California Medicaid program) will no longer pay for treatment to adults over the age of 21 for the following services with some exceptions:
Dental, Speech Therapy, Podiatric Medical Care (the foot doctor), Audiology services, Chiropractic services, Acupuncture services, Optometric and optician services, Psychology services, incontinence creams and washes.
No doubt this will serve to clog up the emergency rooms and primary/family care doctors offices even more than they already are when these patients must now be cared for there instead of referred to these specialists. Good Luck California.
Aiming to slash $1.1 billion from Medi-Cal, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger presented a budget plan Thursday that would reduce reimbursement to providers - such as doctors and community clinics - by 10 percent, and cut podiatry, hearing and vision services to adults, among other proposed cuts. Additionally, as part of a proposed $11 million cut in state funding of AIDS programs, certain medications would no longer be covered.
Outraged, many health care experts said that essential services are on the cutting block, critically affecting millions of people, especially poor, older adults and the disabled. The state has 6.6 million people receiving Medi-Cal, nearly 774,000 in the Bay Area.
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