ArnoldWatch tipsters tell us
that Arnold, as part of his ‘Medi-Cal redesign plan,’ wants to force
the disabled in the program to join corporateering HMOs whose high
overhead costs and capped payments mean that patient care gets short
changed. The plan would be an outsourcing dream come true for state
HMOs, which have given $300,000 to the Gov’s various fundraising
committees. After all, what disabled patient would choose an HMO of
their own volition, since an HMO’s reason for being is to limit access
to care for those who need it?
This is not the first time that Arnold has allowed private industry to
come up with its own rules. In each case the "cost savings" mantra has
been used to obscure the financial rewards being given to some of
Arnold’s biggest campaign contributors. Last week, for example, the
Deregulinator pulled the plug on regulating the profiteering workers’
compensation insurers. On his second day in office, Arnold’s Executive
Order No. 2 froze hard-fought patient protection rules at the
Department of Managed Health Care which oversees state HMOs. Arnold has
also directed his policy team to develop a plan to re-deregulate the
state’s electric utilities — the first attempt at which cost
ratepayers billions in overcharges.
Under the Governor’s Medi-Cal "redesign" plan taxpayers could pay more
for less care. That’s because HMOs providing Medi-Cal coverage are
allowed to spend up to 15% of every dollar on overhead, administration,
advertising, executive salaries and profit. To maintain their profit
margins, HMOs will make it more difficult for the patients to access
specialized care, limit which hospitals and physicians they can visit,
and override physician recommendations. While these limitations are
onerous for any patient, such restrictions on the ill and disabled
could significantly undermine their health and quality of life. It’s
time again for Arnold to take stock of why he got involved in the
Special Olympics in the first place. (Maybe Eunice Shriver, who founded
the group, should give him another call).
