Modesto Bee
Section: LOCAL NEWS
Edition(s): ALL
Page: B1
By: TIM MORAN

Published August 17, 2007

TMORAN@MODBEE.COM
Area health care providers, social services agencies and community colleges are coping so far with the state budget stalemate -- but if it continues much longer, things may start falling apart.

"At this point, we don't know what is going to happen. We have already lost a lot of money," said Ramsina Betsayad, program manager at Turlock Adult Day Health Center.

The center cares for 60 elderly clients a day, all of them Medi-Cal patients. They stay four to six hours, get two meals, grooming, therapy, activities and classes, Betsayad said.

"Some of our employees are paying for food and supplies for them," she said. Most of the patients have no other place to go, Betsayad added.

The center's owner is working at getting a line of credit or loan to stay open, she said.

The problem is that the state budget has been approved by the Assembly but is stalled in the Senate, where it needs one more vote.

The state has a long history of late budgets, but this year's is already the third-latest in 40 years.

The lack of state money is beginning to affect a broad range of services.

Hy-Lond Convalescent Home on Coffee Road in Modesto relies on Medi-Cal payments for 75 percent of its income, and the state owes the facility more than $300,000 for August, an administrator said. The facility cares for 120 patients.

The long-term care center is getting support from its parent company, Avalon Health Care, which has facilities in other states, said Administrator Belinda Guzman. Nine of the company's 34 care facilities are in California.

"We do have money, but if it goes on for a length of time we will have a problem buying supplies and paying employees," Guzman said. "It is not a big chain in California, but it's putting a hardship on the whole company."

Oak Valley Hospital in Oakdale also is going without Medi-Cal payments for hospital admissions and its health clinics in Escalon, Riverbank and Oakdale.

Spokeswoman Susan Mendieta said there are no plans to reduce clinic hours or cut back on services.

"So far, we are able to cover our expenses," she said. "We are contacting our elected officials to request that the budget be passed. It is asking a lot of health care providers to fund what the state is supposed to be covering."

Domestic violence shelters that depend on state funding are preparing to tap into reserves and take out credit lines.

"We've got payroll to meet; we've got bills to pay," said Belinda Rolicheck, executive director of Haven Women's Center. "I sometimes wonder if they're cognizant of how difficult it is, not just for us, but for anyone who gets a state paycheck."

Rolicheck said two grants, one from the state's Department of Health Services and another from the Office of Emergency Services, account for $600,000 of the shelter's $1.5 million annual budget.

Haven is reimbursed for those programs as it helps its clients. Rolicheck said the budget impasse has her waiting for payments from work since July 1.

Unlike Haven, A Woman's Place in Merced does not have reserves to tap.

Diana Almanza, its executive director, said state grants account for 75 percent of her $1.7 million budget. She said the shelter has not received checks for work in July, and it's not expecting payment soon for its August services.

Almanza said she'd like to see the Legislature pass Republican state Sen. Jeff Denham's proposal to fund nonprofit and health organizations while the budget talks continue.

Denham, R-Merced, has refused to vote for the budget with a group of 13 other Republicans.

"It's a very, very difficult position we've been put in," Almanza said. "The bottom line is, it's victim services that are being impacted."

Stanislaus County's Health Services Agency and Community Services Agency are missing millions of dollars in state payments.

So far, however, the county has been able to use general fund money to cover the difference, and clients and patients haven't been affected.

If the budget stalemate rolls into mid-September, however, there will be problems, county officials said.

MAKING ENDS MEET ... FOR NOW

The Stanislaus Health Services Agency is missing an average of $150,000 a week in direct Medi-Cal payments, Managing Director Mary Ann Lee said.

The county is still receiving $100,000 a week in Medi-Cal payments through managed plans, Blue Cross and HealthNet, Lee said.

"We are part of the county system, and we are able to make it work. But for how long?" she asked.

Ken Patterson is director of the county's Community Services Agency, which handles a variety of programs for low-income and welfare recipients.

"We are spending our county general fund balance in the proposed budget. We are good through mid-September," Patterson said. "Then we need to develop a strategy; we've never had to go there before."

The Community Services Agency has a $249 million annual budget, with 97 percent of the revenue coming from state and federal government. The federal money is filtered through the state, however, and also is tied up with the state budget problem, Patterson said.

"I've seen many more nervous looks in our fiscal staff," he said. "It's getting quite serious."

Community college workers are state employees, so all revenue from the state for the district workers is being withheld during the budget gridlock.

Yosemite Community College District officials are paying their bills using money from its state-mandated 5 percent reserve, said Teresa Scott, YCCD executive vice chancellor of fiscal services. That money will last through the first or second week of October.

"We have cash, we just don't have revenue right now," Scott said.

The district pays about $11 million a month to employees and vendors, Scott said. The YCCD usually receives payments at the end of each month.

"This is why it's very, very good to have a reserve. This is an example as to why we have it," she said. "We've protected ourselves to a certain extent."

If the budget stalemate lasts longer than October, the district can get a short-term loan from the county or other agencies.

In the meantime, the district is losing money from the 4.9 percent interest it would be earning on its reserve.

Stanislaus County also is losing interest money on the funds it is spending from the general fund, officials said.

"At this time in county government, every dollar counts," Patterson commented.

Golden Valley Health Centers, which operates clinics in Stanislaus and Merced counties, also has a reserve fund that is carrying it through the budget stalemate, said CEO Mike Sullivan.

The nonprofit, privately owned clinic system created the fund after weathering the last state budget crisis, when it had to borrow money to survive, Sullivan said.

Bee staff writers Adam Ashton, Michelle Hatfield and Ken Carlson contributed to this report.

To comment, click on the link with this story at www.modbee.com. Bee staff writer Tim Moran can be reached at tmoran@modbee.com or 578-2349.

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