California, a model for healthcare reform, is seeking to impose some of the toughest limits on government-subsidized coverage. If approved, the limits could herald deep Medicaid cuts nationwide.
http://www.latimes.com/health/la-na-california-healthcare-20110915,0,7723001.storyexcerpt:
California, which already pays Medi-Cal providers less than all but two states, also is pushing to cut payments to doctors, hospitals and others who serve Medi-Cal patients by 10%. That would drop reimbursement for a standard physician visit to less than $12.
"This isn't the way we'd want to run a Medicaid program," said Toby Douglas, California's Medi-Cal director. "If it wasn't for the state fiscal crisis, we … would not be going forward with these proposals. We would be focusing solely on healthcare reform."
Medical providers and patient advocates are growing increasingly concerned, however, that the cuts will undermine the goals of the new law.
Many doctors have already closed their doors to Medicaid patients. Other providers are following suit. In June, Sharp Coronado Hospital in San Diego County stopped taking new patients at its facility providing long-term life support.