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Supervisors Approve Children's Health Plan |
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By Barney McManigal
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Thursday, June 14 2007 |
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County supervisors on Wednesday launched a multi-million dollar plan to extend health care to 742 uninsured kids just as critics called for spending cuts to avert looming deficits.
On a 3-2 vote, the Board of Supervisors allotted $1 million to the five-year Children’s Health Initiative, as part of a proposed $758 million budget for next year that includes at least $1.2 million more in new spending than increased revenue.
While the county has millions in reserves, officials could face deficits as high as $18 million by 2010 if they fail to identify new funding streams or cut back on services at hospitals and clinics.
The initiative, supported by Supervisors Salud Carbajal, Joe Centeno and Janet Wolf, aims to cover the county’s 16,000 uninsured kids and would cost up to $7 million or more – a price tag that concerned dissenting Supervisors Brooks Firestone and Joni Gray.
The pool of red ink at the panel’s budget hearings seemed to grow deeper as several departments detailed their money woes.
Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Services cited a $2.8 million shortfall due in part to a shrinking number of clients eligible for government health care programs like Medi-Cal. And Social Services Director Kathy Gallagher said the county has lost millions because the state and federal governments do not reimburse mandated programs adequately.
“Unfunded mandates is where we’re at for most of our programs,” Gallagher said. But she also cautioned against alarmism, noting that state and federal lawmakers could improve reimbursement rates in the future. “The sky is not falling yet," she said.
Supervisor Brooks Firestone made an eleventh hour appeal to colleagues, asking them to consider delaying the vote, in light of state and federal attempts to provide universal health care. He also cited diminishing property tax growth, the need for a new jail and the state’s unfunded pension liability of $50 billion for government workers as reasons to hold off.
“We do not have the funds to cover this,” Firestone said.
Wolf sought to placate opponents by explaining that investments in health care would pay dividends by keeping more people out of the system later.
“It’s a positive cycle,” Wolf said. “I just don’t see a downside to it.”
At one point, Sergio Rodriguez, an uninsured boy, addressed supervisors in both English and Spanish, with his parents in tow.
“I have asthma and my mom and dad don’t have money to pay the doctor.”
Critics acknowledged the worthiness of the goal, but cited other needs and concern for the county’s overall solvency.
Coalition of Labor, Agriculture and Business chief Andy Caldwell insisted supervisors couldn’t afford the spending they already have on the books.
“Let’s make some hard decisions right now instead of borrowing against our future,” said Caldwell, who suggested that the board pay for the initiative by closing a clinic in Carpinteria, which sits in Carbajal’s district.
On Friday, supervisors are expected to approve the budget after debating several million dollars in “expansion requests,” or proposals for additional funds sought by county departments and external organizations. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the county administration building, 105 E. Anapamu St. in Santa Barbara. |
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