California Medical Association Responds To Governor Schwarzenegger's Proposed Budget

Richard Frankenstein M.D., President of the California Medical Association, issued the below statement in response to the Governor's proposed budget, which cuts $1.1 billion in state funds from Medi-Cal, the state's health care program for low-income families. These cuts cost California $1 billion in additional federal matching funds. In total, the Governor's proposed budget would drain more than $2 billion away from health care for California's low-income families.

Cutting the budget for Medi-Cal will only exacerbate the problems the Governor's health reform plan was designed to solve. Fewer Medi-Cal dollars will mean less access to doctors for low-income families, more patients in emergency rooms, and higher health care costs for everyone.  The health-care plan proposed by Governor Schwarzenegger and Speaker Nuñez recognizes that California can't afford to ignore this important source of revenue.

California Medical Association Responds To Governor Schwarzenegger's Proposed Budget