Health group says Schwarzenegger's budget cuts care for 1 million

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed budget would eliminate or deny health care coverage to more than 1 million people, the largest rollback in state history, according to a study released Wednesday.

Hailed as the first study to detail the extent of the governor's proposed cuts, the report by Health Access California, a consumer advocacy coalition, warns the reductions would devastate the health care system in a state that already has 6.5 million uninsured people.

Hospital emergency rooms would become more crowded, driving up uncompensated costs, which would be passed on to insured people through higher premiums, according to Dr. Richard Frankenstein, president of the California Medical Association.

Schwarzenegger has called for tighter eligibility requirements for coverage and reduced rates paid to health care providers in an effort to lower the state's estimated $15.2 billion deficit for the fiscal year that begins Tuesday.

But Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access, said the state needs to raise revenue to keep the health care system from crumbling.

"This effort to try to do the budget through cuts only is immoral," Wright said in a conference call with reporters.

Lisa Page, a spokeswoman for the Republican governor, said he remains opposed to raising taxes.

"The governor's stance is that we can only spend what we have, and we have to live within our means," Page said.

According to the study, 471,500 children would lose Medi-Cal coverage during the next three years because the governor's proposal would require their families to submit paperwork every three months in order to remain eligible. State officials acknowledge the added paperwork would reduce enrollment.

The report also estimates 429,000 working parents would be denied Medi-Cal coverage because the proposal would lower income eligibility from $17,600 to $11,968 for a family of three.

The study concluded 100,000 children and adults who now qualify for public programs also would remain uninsured. And it estimates 60,000 more children would lose coverage in the Healthy Families program due to higher premiums.

According to the study's county-by-county projections, 55,872 children and adults would be denied or lose coverage in Sacramento County; 6,644 in Yolo County; 5,568 in Placer County; and 3,724 in El Dorado County.

"The governor understands the impact of these cuts," Page said, adding that they would have been averted if the Legislature had not blocked his health care plan earlier this year.

Page said the governor is committed to "comprehensive health care reform."

But Wright said Schwarzenegger's current proposals would decimate the foundation for health reform.

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• Call Aurelio Rojas, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5545.