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Health care workers expecting the worst from the $99 billion state budget signed by Gov. Gray Davis last week can now enjoy their 15 minutes of relief ... or less.
Cuts to health care spending didn't run as deeply as feared, but hospitals, health plans and physicians are already retrenching for more ax battles next year by reexamining their operations, contemplating service cuts and seeking new revenue.
At stake for the health care industry in the fiscal year 20022003 budget were large spending reductions, specifically to programs and providers that serve the poor and uninsured. What transpired didnt leave the industry jumping joyfully.
Davis vetoed about $52 million to expand the Healthy Families program, which covers children of low-income parents whose jobs don't provide health insurance. The budget had included money to fund coverage for parents as well. In all, the governor bluelined about $177 million in health and human services spending.
Trailer bills still trickle in, leaving unclear, for instance, whether Medi-Cal reimbursement rates to physicians and hospitals that had been increased will revert to pre-2000 levels. Medi-Cal spending accounts for the largest share of general fund expenditures for health and human services, according to the California HealthCare Foundations Medi-Cal Policy Institute.
Still, what the budget spared is notable, and industry observers were quick to point out that they could have fared worse.
"I think the cuts were not as severe as the governor proposed in May. But next year is going to be a...