Critics raise alarms about downsizing of Calif. adult day health care program

Some say the state has predetermined how many people it can serve and is manipulating the process for assessing clients so the results fit within the new program's slimmer budget.

HealthyCal: Program's Transition Mired In Confusion
California is bungling its planned transition to a less expensive way to care for older adults and disabled people trying to stay out of nursing homes, leaving thousands of vulnerable people at risk of being forced into institutions, critics say. ... The most damning criticism, if true, is that the state has predetermined how many people it is prepared to serve and is manipulating the process for assessing individual clients so that the results fit within the new program's slimmer budget. ... State officials stand firm that budget cuts have forced a much needed change with the new program, and say those who truly need the services will continue receiving them (Perry, 3/7). 

California Healthline: More People May Be Eligible for Adult Day Services
There was a glimmer of good news for the 35,000 adult day health care Medi-Cal patients in California. It looks like a much higher percentage of them than previously estimated will be eligible to receive the new benefit called Community Based Adult Services. Department of Health Care Services Director Toby Douglas originally said he expected about 50 percent of current ADHC patients to qualify for the new program. ... and the CBAS program starts Apr. 1 (Gorn, 3/8).

In the meantime, care at California nursing homes lack oversight, a new report says --

California Watch: Oversight Of California Nursing Homes Lacking, Report Finds 
California nursing home inspectors fall short in following up on their own investigative findings, possibly enabling sustained neglect or lax practices that can injure residents, according to a new federal report. The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General, which oversees Medicare and Medicaid, identified shortcomings by the California Department of Public Health, which inspects the state's 1,150 nursing homes. ... The report released last week examined the handling of 178 findings of deficiencies at three nursing homes that send a high rate of patients to nearby hospitals with bedsores and severe infections (Jewett, 3/7).