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Politics & Government

Gov. Vetos Bill Keeping MediCal-Funded Adult Day Services

Napa Valley Hospice won't lose funding, but the Adult Day Services program will no longer be supported by the state after Dec. 1.

California Gov. Jerry Brown has that would have kept 37,000 state residents needing medical services in their homes, instead of nursing homes.

About 300 statewide Adult Day Health Care centers will be affected by this blow, including on South Jefferson Street.

ADHC is a community-based day care program that provides health, therapeutic and social services to those at risk of being placed in a nursing home.

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“The governor extended the elimination of services from the original Aug. 30 deadline until Dec. 1,” said Celine Regalia, director of Napa Valley Hospice and Adult Day Services.

“We will have until about the end of the year to make arrangements for the transition.”

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The governor’s veto has no bearing on the hospice services, Regalia said. “That is a completely different program.”

With the veto of the bill (AB96) MediCal funding will cease for those enrolled in adult day services.

“This will affect 60 percent of the 110 patients we have in our adult day care program,” Regalia said. “In December the funding will just stop, and we can no longer bill MediCal for their services.”

It costs about $1,050 per month per person enrolled in ADHC compared with $5,193 per month per person enrolled in nursing home care, Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield (D-San Fernando Valley) said in a press release.

The loss of funding has already closed 17 centers statewide.

The goal of adult day services is to keep those requiring day-to-day care for medical and emotional issues in their homes.

Regalia said the Napa Valley center provides one-stop services for the adult day care patients.

“We even pay for the transportation to bring them to the center. Here they can get the medical care, skills and other programs they need,” she said. “We have it all under one roof.”

An alternative for the loss of adult day care centers includes managed  health care under the direction of the state department of health and human services.

Regalia said she believes managed health care programs will take away the personal touch adult day care centers provide.

“We know our patients personally and are involved with their daily needs,” she said, “something that is hard to achieve at the state level.”

Disability Rights California has filed a federal lawsuit seeking an injunction to stop the elimination of MediCal funds, Regalia said. A hearing scheduled for July 28 has been continued to Nov. 1.

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