Press

CAHF Budget Advocacy Has Positive Impact
Legislative deadline looms

With the deadline June 15 for the Legislature to pass a state budget, CAHF’s negotiating and lobbying efforts appear to have made headway in mitigating current cuts while also improving the financial outlook for CAHF members in the future.

The governor’s May budget revision originally proposed a permanent skilled-nursing facility quality-assurance fee, a 1-percent reduction in base rates and an increase in the 2012-13 QAF with funds diverted to the General Fund.

Despite this proposal, CAHF’s advocacy efforts with the administration over the past seven months have resulted in the following outcome:

• A two-year extension of the QAF and AB 1629 sunset date, from July 31, 2013, to July 31, 2015.
• No reduction in current base rates for 2012-13.
• Increases in the AB 1629 global budget cap of 3 percent in 2013-14 and 3 percent in 2014-15.

While this is positive news for CAHF members, there is no assurance that the essential detail-filled budgetary trailer bills that include these provisions will be passed by June 15, even if the Legislature approves a budget.

CAHF will continue to monitor the budget process and the course of the budgetary trailer bills and will notify members through e-mail alerts as information becomes available.

Members-only webinar
CAHF also encourages members participate in the members-only June 27 webinar Reimbursement Update – View from the Trenches  with Darryl Nixon, CAHF director of reimbursement, and Nancy Hayward, CAHF assistant director of reimbursement. (See the article under “CAHF & QCHF Events” in this newsletter.) Staff contacts: Darryl Nixon, dnixon@cahf.org, and Nancy Hayward, (916) 441-6400, ext. 106, nhayward@cahf.org.