Medi-Cal scare

Jenny Marder

Gerry Bowes, 82, and her husband, Carl Schlismann, 86, get by on

Social Security, Medi-Cal and the meager income from Bowes’ part-time

job selling Avon. The couple has no family and no one to support them

financially.

Bowes fears for her husband, who will have nowhere to go if

Medi-Cal cuts force him out of the care unit of his nursing home. She

can’t hold down the job forever.

A new study crafted by California United for Nursing Home Care, a

nonprofit group working to protect nursing home residents, found that

the 15% cuts, outlined in Gov. Gray Davis’ May revision for the

proposed 2003-04 budget, could result in the closure of 11 homes in

Orange County and 250 to 300 nursing homes statewide.

Proposed cuts to Medi-Cal for nursing homes could have devastating

effects on Huntington Beach facilities, possibly forcing some to shut

down, said Fernando Rodriguez, corporate administrator of Sunbridge

Care Center in Huntington Beach, where Schlismann is cared for.

“To live off of Medi-Cal funding is very, very difficult,” Bowes

said. “I’ve noticed some people who don’t have anybody. There’s

nobody to take care of them. They wouldn’t know what to do.”

There are three nursing homes in Huntington Beach -- Beachside

Nursing and Rehab Center, Sunbridge Care Center and Huntington Valley

Healthcare Center. All three rely on Medi-Cal funding.

“All three would be susceptible to potential closure based on the

cuts,” said Scott Mann, a spokesman for California United for Nursing

Home Care.

The Intermediate Care Facility Unit, where Schlismann lives, could

be one of the casualties of the cuts, as the unit is strictly

Medi-Cal funded, said Rebecca Mangoal, interim administrator for the

unit.

If the cuts are made, Sunbridge might not be able to pay for the

unit and would have to find somewhere to relocate the patients.

“This would mean putting the burden back on the family,” Mangoal

said. “It’s not a pretty picture.”

Sunbridge has 280 beds and a staff of 200.

“Most nursing homes in Huntington Beach have a very difficult time

keeping their doors open,” Rodriguez said. “It’s not like we have a

lot of revenue coming in now. I don’t want to be a doomsayer, but

something’s got to give somewhere.”

The give, he said, could mean having to refuse patients who

require more expensive care and making staffing cuts.

“For some of the [caregivers], they would potentially lose a job

or look at a cut in salary,” Mann said.

Medi-Cal is a need-based program funded jointly by the state and

federal government. To qualify, a resident must have an annual income

of less than $2,000 a month. Some of those who qualify for Medi-Cal

are people 65 or older, blind or disabled people and pregnant women.

Displaced residents would have no choice but to turn to hospital

care, which is five to 10 times more expensive than an average

nursing home, Rodriguez said.

“What [state legislators] are not taking into consideration is the

fact that workers comp and liability insurance has skyrocketed,” he

said. “Couple that with Medi-Cal cuts, and you have a recipe for

disaster.”

Nursing home administrators and senior advocacy groups are pushing

to convince legislators to halt the cuts. Bowes wrote a letter to

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher asking him to prevent the Medi-Cal cuts.

“Our biggest push now is we’re trying to meet the legislature to

make them understand that this is an inappropriate direction,”

Rodriguez said. “You just can’t cut funding to seniors. It’s

inappropriate.”

The Medi-Cal cuts would go into effect Oct. 1.

* JENNY MARDER covers City Hall. She can be reached at (714)

965-7173 or by e-mail at jenny.marder@latimes.com.