{Extracted from a Larger Sacramento Bee Story.}
Health care in peril, officials say
Proposed state budget cuts could be 'the last straw' for many doctors and hospitals.
By Aurelio Rojas -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Thursday, May 16, 2002
Doctors, hospitals and advocates for the poor warned Wednesday that Gov. Gray Davis' proposed budget cuts will devastate the state's ailing health care system.
"We have a health care system that's already unraveling, and the state budget crisis will be the last straw for many doctors and many hospitals," said Dr. Jack Lewin, chief executive officer of the California Medical Association.
Faced with a $23.6 billion state budget deficit, Davis' revised spending plan announced Tuesday pares spending by $7.6 billion. More than $1 billion will come from health care. {Emphasis Added}
The governor defended his plan -- which also calls for tax increases, relies heavily on accounting shifts and borrows from the state's share of the national tobacco settlement -- saying the yawning budget gap left him no choice.
California already has nearly 7 million uninsured people. And because hospital emergency rooms are required by law to treat these patients, a growing number of facilities are closing their doors due to insolvency.
Health care advocates predict many more hospitals will follow suit as the ranks of the uninsured grow in response to the budget cuts.
Dr. John Whitelaw, a Sacramento physician and president of the CMA, said California's contribution to Medi-Cal will move it from 42nd among states to last.
The Davis budget proposes dropping what the state pays for the typical Medi-Cal office visit from $20 to $16, according to the CMA.
California already has nearly 7 million uninsured people. And because hospital emergency rooms are required by law to treat these patients, a growing number of facilities are closing their doors due to insolvency.
Health care advocates predict many more hospitals will follow suit as the ranks of the uninsured grow in response to the budget cuts.
Dr. John Whitelaw, a Sacramento physician and president of the CMA, said California's contribution to Medi-Cal will move it from 42nd among states to last.
The Davis budget proposes dropping what the state pays for the typical Medi-Cal office visit from $20 to $16, according to the CMA.
12:40:56 PM 
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