Tag: Budget Cuts

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A state budget hammered out in October didn't contain cuts to the DME benefit, but stakeholders know the relief could be short-lived. The budget was signed into law Oct. 8, nearly four months into the state's fiscal year and about a month after the state's health care fund ran out of money, halting Medi-Cal payments to providers. "It's an overly optimistic document that will not take us through the current fiscal year," said Bob Achermann, executive director of the California...

I read this story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution today about the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) cutting its $6-million-a-year wheelchair program due to a decrease in donations and a poor return on its investments, both results of the poor economy. The MDA used to provide grants of up to $2,000 for wheelchairs. Now people like 27-year-old Joey Feltner, who called the MDA after his manual wheelchair was stolen recently, can't afford a replacement. In addition to cutting its wheelchair program,...