Assembly and Senate Budget Subcommittees hand Governor defeat on home care funding freeze

SACRAMENTO, April 19, 2007—The Senate Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services today rejected Gov. Schwarzenegger's budget proposal to freeze state funding for wages and benefits for California's In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program workers. Both legislative committees with oversight of IHSS funding have now dismissed the administration’s draconian spending cut. IHSS provides personal care and domestic services to more than 375,000 people with disabilities, including seniors. The program saves taxpayers millions of dollars every year by helping Californians who need assistance to live at home, avoiding costly long-term care institutions.

"Today, the Senate Budget Committee did the right thing in repudiating Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposal to freeze state participation in IHSS wages and benefits," said Bernadette Lynch, President of the California Association of Public Authorities. "This vote shows support for the 375,000 Californians who lovingly care for our most vulnerable citizens – the elderly and disabled."

"The lives of these Californians, who struggle to survive in this high-cost state on minimal incomes, should always be a top priority for California lawmakers overseeing state spending," said Herb Meyer, a conservative recipient of IHSS services. "We are happy to see the Legislature expose this proposal for what it is: a hopeless trick aimed at Californians who deserve more respect from this Governor."

As proposed, Schwarzenegger's budget plan would limit state participation in wages and benefits for home care workers. County government costs could double or triple expenditures to fill the gap of state funding and keep the IHSS program in place. The Schwarzenegger Administration has refused to tell reporters how much the IHSS funding freeze would cost the state.

"If the Governor doesn’t even have the guts to tell us how much money the state would save by cutting IHSS, why is he still pushing for it? Why is he letting his Administration cut a program in the name of cost savings without giving us any real numbers to back it up?" said John Wilkins, an IHSS consumer from Fresno.

Under the Governor’s plan:
• Californians who use IHSS would face a shortage of home care workers, making it likely that many would be forced into institutions, such as nursing homes;
• Wages for home care workers would stagnate. Studies show that when wages increase, and health insurance is an available benefit, one-year retention rates for personal care providers nearly double;
• Health insurance for home care workers could disappear entirely, adding more California residents to the growing list of people without health coverage;
• California would be defying the U.S. Supreme Court Olmstead v. L.C. decision, which requires states to provide services to people with disabilities in the most integrated setting possible;
• The annual cost to provide care for each IHSS consumer would jump from $9,924 to about $60,000 as they move out of home care and into more expensive and less desirable institutional settings; and,
• Counties would likely cap IHSS wages and benefits, while state costs would increase by having to rely on nursing homes, other institutions, and contract-mode workers to provide care.

Using the analogy of the three-legged stool, there are three legs to funding for IHSS program: state, federal and county revenues. The Governor's proposal would break off one of the legs of that three-legged stool, causing instability to the entire program.

"Governor Schwarzenegger has failed to protect the needy, blind, disabled and aged in our communities, and has shown a total disregard for what should be a top priority of California lawmakers overseeing state spending," said Bill Young, an IHSS consumer in Sacramento County. "To deny those in need in the name of fiscal restraint is shameful for any leader, but especially desperate for Governor Schwarzenegger, who continues to disregard the plight of low-income families across the Golden State."

Schwarzenegger's $103 billion spending plan for the 2007-08 budget year would take effect July 1 once approved by lawmakers. His severe proposals include immediate freezes on state funding for IHSS workers, who many blind, disabled and senior California residents rely on for basic personal care.

Under the Governor's new proposal, workers across California who work to provide personal and domestic care to elderly, disabled and blind Californians would be paid no more than $9.00 in most counties. And because the Governor’s plan would put the burden of costs on County governments, it is possible the entire IHSS program could crumble in some fiscally-troubled counties.

"It's pretty simple – the worker is the 'Service' in 'In-Home Supportive Services.' When you reduce the pay of the worker, you reduce the service and you put people with disabilities, including seniors, at great risk," said Jovan Agee, Political and Legislative Director of the United Domestic Workers of America/AFSCME.

"We are disgusted that a Governor who prides himself on developing policy proposals that offer health coverage to all Californians is still capable of freezing state funding for a program that gives many residents the health coverage they need to survive," said Bill Young, an IHSS consumer in Sacramento County. "We plan to do everything in our power to work with the legislature to preserve what the Governor is trying to dismantle."
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