Leaders of the state program that provides daytime health care to about 37,000 California adults are hoping to keep the service alive by offering their own ideas on how to save the state $28 million.
The proposal by the California Association for Adult Day Services represents a small part of the $177 million Gov. Jerry Brown plans to save by eliminating the program as part of his efforts to wipe out a $25.4 billion budget deficit.
But California Healthline reports that it is enough to convince the Legislature to keep the program in tact.
From the Healthline article:
California officials understand that adult day health services actually save the state money by keeping seniors out of nursing homes, and the additional savings might be enough to keep the program afloat — or at least prompt a conversation about how to save it.
If the program is completely cut as planned, (association executive director Lydia) Missaelides thinks advocates might file a lawsuit over its elimination, just as mental health advocates have successfully sued over large cuts to those services.
Legislative committees are scheduled to finalize budget details by the end of this week and the Assembly and Senate are expected to begin deliberations next week. Lawmakers have said they’d like to send a budget to the governor by March 4.