Lawmakers push to protect health care programs in Calif. budget plan

Lawmakers set to move a budget through the California legislature are pushing back against a plan by Gov. Jerry Brown to cut health care benefits -- notably for in-home care, kids, the elderly and the disabled.

Los Angeles Times: State Lawmakers Will Start Moving Budget Plan Through Legislature
Although Democratic legislators have consented to most of the spending plan released by Gov. Jerry Brown in May, a proposal released by the Assembly on Monday reflects opposition to some of the cuts in welfare, health care and college financial aid. … The lawmakers are also pushing back on Brown's plan to cut in-home care for the elderly and disabled (Megerian and York, 6/11).

San Francisco Chronicle: California Budget Set To Pass Legislative Panels
Lawmakers are expected to approve a framework for a state budget Tuesday, retaining most of Gov. Jerry Brown's plan but significantly reducing his proposed cuts to welfare, child care and other services that help the poor. … In other areas of state spending, Democrats plan to reject proposed reductions in Healthy Families insurance rates -- the program provides health care to poor children -- but agreed to transfer some of the state's poorest children off of the state program and onto Medi-Cal. Lawmakers also denied the governor's proposal to make AIDS patients pay more for drugs and other medical support (Buchanan and Lagos, 6/12).

California Healthline: Analysis: Governor's Budget Plan Sells Kids Short
California kids do not fare well in the governor's proposed 2012-2013 budget, and their plight could get much worse if voters reject a tax initiative in November, according to an analysis released last week by a children's advocacy group. … The policy analysis from Children Now includes pointed criticism of Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to deal with a $15.7 billion budget gap (Lauer, 6/11).

California Healthline: Health Care Task Force Starts Up
This is not your usual task force, according to Diana Dooley, secretary of the state Health and Human Services department. This one, she said, is less interested in the ideal and more focused on producing real-world results. The idea is to figure out which programs across the state improve health care and keep costs down and then encourage and support them. Dooley was in Los Angeles yesterday to co-chair the first meeting of the health care task force created last month by Gov. Jerry Brown (D) (Gorn, 6/11).