Health centers and community clinics that provide services for low-income Californians will be the latest casualty of the late state budget.

More than 1,000 facilities that serve patients receiving Medi-Cal – the state's public health insurance program – will stop receiving payments as early as next week because a reserve of state and federal funding used during budget delays has run dry.

Dozens of types of health service providers, including Adult Day Health Care centers, Home Health Agency centers and free community clinics, receive Medi-Cal payments from the $2 billion Medical Providers Interim Payment fund when the budget is not enacted by the July 1 start of the fiscal year.

That well was expected to be depleted Thursday, and as of next week, Medi-Cal claims filed by those providers will not be paid until the budget is passed.

Medi-Cal payments typically represent 50 percent to 80 percent of total revenue for the health centers and community clinics. Community health care advocates say stopping the revenue for low-income health care providers still reeling from last year's deep spending cuts could have devastating effects.

"Our clinics and health centers are facing the prospect of not being able to meet payroll and pay their employees," said Carmela Castellano-Garcia, president and CEO of the California Primary Care Association. "If the budget stalemate continues, there could be even more dire results including the closure of clinics."

Not all providers that receive Medi-Cal payments will be affected. Reimbursements for certain types of Medi-Cal providers, including hospitals and nursing homes, must be paid under state laws and the federal stimulus act.

Fifty-one days into the fiscal year, lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appear no closer to passing a spending plan to close an estimated $19 billion gap. State Controller John Chiang said Wednesday that entities he's legally permitted to pay will start getting IOUs within a month because of the state's cash crunch.

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Call Torey Van Oot, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5544.

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