Advocates for the elderly and the disabled applauded a federal court settlement Thursday that replaces California's Adult Day Health Care program, long a target of state budget reductions, with a similar community-based program that allows low- income, frail seniors to remain in their own homes.
"Some cuts are just not OK in this fiscal process," said Disability Rights California's Elissa Gershon, lead attorney for the Darling v. Douglas case, which challenged plans to eliminate Medi-Cal coverage of adult day health care for 35,000 participants.
Under a sharply criticized transition plan, Medi-Cal funding for ADHC was scheduled to end on Dec. 1.
According to terms of the settlement, participants have until Feb. 29, 2012, to qualify for the new program, which like ADHC will provide skilled nursing care, health services, physical and occupational therapy, and transportation.
The new program, called Community-Based Adult Services, will save $28 million in the 2011-12 budget and $92 million the next year by shifting participants into the Medi-Cal managed care health plan under a federal health care reform waiver.