California faces a Sophie’s Choice, except that the decision doesn’t involve which child to save. This tragic choice will involve elderly Californians.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposes to slice $135 million from the budget by eliminating “adult day health care,” a program that helps 37,000 old and infirm men and women remain in their homes, out of far more costly nursing homes.
The Legislative Analyst’s Office concurs, citing the $20 billion budget deficit and the need for immediate cuts.
So far, legislators are balking. We hope they continue to refuse. Cutting adult day care would be a false savings. The LAO has said as much, noting the proposal “does not adequately account for general fund cost shifts that could result from the proposed elimination of this benefit.”
If you’re not familiar with adult day health care, you soon may be. California has a rapidly aging population. A parent or maybe even you may need the program. If you do have need for it, you will find it to be a lifesaver.
In adult day care programs, elderly people can spend several hours a day in facilities where they play cards, talk with friends, or become engaged in exercise and crafts. This is not a program for the wealthy. It is for old folks, many of whom served their country, and didn’t have the good fortune to acquire large sums of money along the way.
Candidates and lawmakers who blithely call for cuts to welfare as a way to “save” money might count adult day care as one such program. But there is nothing trivial or extravagant about it.
Social and health care workers track changes in the health or cognitive skills of the people who attend, and help avert major problems. Adult day care is a humane and enlightened alternative to far more costly nursing homes.
The Schwarzenegger administration is in a bind. In past years, the administration tried to preserve welfare programs by paring them back. In several instances, interest groups sued and won court orders restoring the cuts.
Although it may be illegal to trim programs, the state appears to be entitled to eliminate entire programs. Toward this end, lawmakers cut all state money last year for indigent adults for dentistry, cream and washes for people who are incontinent, audiology, optometry, psychology, podiatry, acupuncture and chiropractic services.
The federal government deems all those programs to be “optional.” California now provides only a handful of medical services for indigents that it could cut: prescription drugs, physical and occupational therapy, medical equipment such as wheelchairs, prosthetics and adult day health care.
California faces a deficit of $20 billion, and a structural deficit that will go on for years until there is a fundamental overhaul.
Legislators and Schwarzenegger must focus on the budget before anything else. We recognize more stark choices loom. But in a state as wealthy as California, surely there is money to help our elders maintain a little dignity in their final years.