State cuts take bite out of Social Security checks of some Modesto-area seniors
Modesto Bee
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
By Ken Carlson
State health cuts will wring $96.40 per month from the Social Security checks of about 57,000 seniors and disabled people in California, including hundreds in the Northern San Joaquin Valley and Sierra foothills.
The cuts affect some low-income residents who are dually eligible for health benefits from the federal Medicare program and the state Medi-Cal system.
As part of efforts to deal with a $15 billion deficit in the state budget approved in September, Medi-Cal no longer will pay the Medicare Part B premium for those with a monthly Medi-Cal share of the cost of $501 or more. That will save the state about $63 million in spending this fiscal year.
Starting Saturday, the $96.40-a-month Medicare Part B premium will be deducted from Social Security checks. Medicare charges the premium to help cover the cost of doctor visits, diagnostic tests and medical equipment.
Notices from the state Department of Health Care Services were sent Monday to affected beneficiaries. They include people with an income exceeding $1,100 a month and couples exceeding $1,434 a month.
The deduction will be hard to bear for seniors who budget every penny of their Social Security income, said Frank Dotson, director of the Stanislaus County Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program.
"Especially if they don't know about it, and I don't think they have been informed of it," Dotson said.
The cuts were among Gov. Schwarzenegger's proposals for dealing with the budget deficit. State health officials said it was a tough decision intended to maximize dollars in the Medi-Cal program so that eligibility and quality of service is preserved for the 6.5 million Californians covered by Medi-Cal.
"The state has very serious budget deficits," said Norman Williams, a Department of Health Care Services spokesman. "Medi-Cal and its programs are the second largest general fund expenditure, so it must be part of the solution."
Only California and one other state have paid the Medicare premium for low-income seniors and disabled people, and the state does not receive federal matching dollars for those expenditures, Williams said.
Medicare is the federal government's health program for people 65 and older and certain disabled individuals. Because Medicare doesn't cover all health-care services, such as dental, some California residents with limited incomes continue to receive Medi-Cal benefits after becoming eligible for Medicare.