This week the Assembly Budget Sub did include in its final report (1) elimination of the 10% provider rate cut, and (2) Elimination of the current 80% of Medicare for DME and make all DME at 100%. It is really placeholder language and not very specific as to defining the Medicare rate, i.e., non-rural rates, or use of the KU modifier on custom rehab. That was our request but the description of the action is more a use of Prop 56 funds, which was the increase in tobacco taxes to help increase Medi-Cal provider rates. It also includes funds to increase reimbursement rates for breast pumps.
The Senate Budget sub did not adopt either of our requests. They did not adopt a change to restore the remaining optional benefits that had not yet been restored, which includes incontinence creams and washes.
Both full budget committees will now adopt their own version of the budget. Each House will pass their own version and a Conference Committee comprised of members from both the Senate and Assembly will be selected later next week. The Conference Committee will then meet the following week and begin to resolve the differences between the two versions, which includes our issues, and fashion the final version of the Conference Committee budget. We will not know who those Conference Committee members are until next week typically there are 6 members.
We will need all our members to contact those legislators to urge them to support the Assembly version and our Medi-Cal specific issues. We will post that information and messaging next week when more information is known. It will be found at
www.campsone.org.
Please encourage any of your CCS patients/ families/ caregivers to sign up at the Family Voices link to encourage the DME reforms. Family Voices is an advocacy group for CCS families and supports our requests. Here is the link and it's easy to use