A budget plan to save money by moving thousands of children into the Medicaid program is scrutinized while legislators scramble to draft companion legislation to implement the budget.
KQED: California Budget Proposal Would Move 880,000 Children Off Healthy Families
The Healthy Families program currently serves children whose families earn too much for Medi-Cal but might not otherwise access private insurance. … Because the Medi-Cal program is cheaper, [Governor Jerry] Brown's plan would save $73 million in 2013-2014 by shifting the children to that program. But advocates say this wouldn't be the case, because of a related tax that only gets political support because of the Healthy Families program. The Sacramento Bee reports that it is a tax collected on managed care plans (Dornhelm, 6/26).