California health officials are proposing a cap on physician visits covered Medi-Cal, limiting patients to 10 per year in an effort to close the state’s budget gap, according to a San Diego Union-Tribune report.
Along with the cap, California Governor Jerry Brown also proposed limiting Medi-Cal recipients to six prescriptions per month and imposing co-payments on emergency department and hospital stays. Altogether, state lawmakers are proposing $1.7 billion in Medi-Cal cuts to make a dent in the state’s $25.4 billion deficit.
The proposal would reduce physician visits covered by Medi-Cal to 2 million from 3.3 million, according to the report. Some nonpartisan officials say such restrictions may disproportionately affect those beneficiaries who are medically fragile.
Read the San Diego Union-Tribune report on the proposed Medi-Cal caps in California.
Read about other state’s Medicare programs.
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