Budget plan could doom Calif.'s sick, critics say

Poor people with chronic illnesses such as kidney failure, cancer and HIV face the prospect of dying due to budget cuts proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown, lawmakers and health advocates said Wednesday.

As Brown's proposal faces its first week of scrutiny by the Legislature, the governor said he believes the budget process is on track for an early March deadline, but modifications are likely. Dozens of hearings are scheduled over the next few weeks, but resistance from a wide variety of people who would feel the brunt of the cuts continues to grow.

Reductions in health spending could doom some of the state's sick, advocates said. The governor has proposed limiting most people on the state Medi-Cal program to 10 doctor visits per year, which would save the state almost $200 million next year.

That limit applies to dialysis patients, many of whom need the procedure three times per week. Those people would hit their limit in a matter of weeks, health advocates said, placing their lives in danger.

"A lot of these recommendations will lead to the most dire of consequences - that people will lose their lives," said Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, chairman of the Senate subcommittee that is reviewing the health cuts.

Mayors from California's largest cities met with the governor Wednesday to voice opposition to a plan to eliminate redevelopment agencies. Meanwhile, advocates for state parks are concerned that the proposed $22 million cut in funding over the next fiscal year could force some of California's natural wonders to close.

"This will demand further closures and full closures probably," said Elizabeth Goldstein, executive director of the California State Parks Foundation.

A panel of lawmakers heard testimony Wednesday on a variety of cuts to Medi-Cal, including new co-pays for prescriptions and emergency room visits and the elimination of the adult day health care program. Democrats on the panel said that while they did not like the proposals, they were committed to reaching the goal of $12.5 billion in both cuts and fund shifts proposed by Brown.
UC, CSU face cuts

The proposed cuts also include a $1.4 billion reduction to the UC and CSU systems, along with community colleges. The impact of the cuts will fall largely on students, who already are paying a far higher percentage of tuition and fees than in recent years, according to administrators. But CSU representative Robert Turnage said that this time, "We have no plans to go back with any additional tuition or fee increases for the 2011-12 fiscal year."

Patrick Lenz, UC vice president for budget, said the $500 million proposed reduction for the system is equal to cutting all state spending for the UC campuses in Santa Barbara, San Francisco and Santa Cruz.

The mayors of nine of the largest cities in California met with Brown in his office Wednesday afternoon and said the redevelopment agency cuts will take money away from job creation and investment in distressed areas.

The proposal would return $1.7 billion to the general fund this year and give it directly to cities and counties in future years to fund services such as schools and public safety.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said he invited Brown to come watch a Giants game at AT&T Park in San Francisco, where he would be surrounded by the results of redevelopment.

"All of the homes around the stadium were built with redevelopment money," he said. "For people looking for jobs, their success depends on the workability of redevelopment agencies and the ability for those entities to leverage private dollars. That's how Mission Bay was born."
Mayors back redevelopment

Many of the mayors, including Lee and Oakland's Jean Quan, stressed that redevelopment is a long-term investment that should not be abandoned, and that it's not just about the sheer amount of property taxes collected - it's about how they leverage those dollars.

The back and forth comes as a new poll from the Public Policy Institute of California found 66 percent of adults support Brown's plan on redevelopment, and 67 percent support a special election on tax increases. The high support "is not something I would have predicted," said Mark Baldassare, president and CEO of policy institute. "To some degree, voters are not blaming Brown for the problem he inherited."