Gov. Brown's proposed Medicaid cuts 'untenable', California Dems warn

By Julian Pecquet - 10/12/11 03:46 PM ET

More than a dozen House Democrats from California met recently with Medicaid boss Donald Berwick to warn him that Gov. Jerry Brown's request for deep cuts to the state/federal program would devastate healthcare providers and their patients, The Hill has learned.

Brown, a Democrat, has put the Obama administration in a tough spot with his request to cut the state's Medicaid program by $1.4 billion to help plug a $26.6 billion budget gap. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) called the proposed cuts "untenable."

Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.) urged Berwick to reject some of the cuts back in July, but last month's meeting demonstrates that other California Democrats also have concerns.

Staffers briefed about the meeting said Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services officials were urged to require that California demonstrate that beneficiaries will still have access to care if the cuts go through, as required by law.

"The meeting was to get an update and to make sure folks were aware of concerns that people have real access to the Medicaid program," a spokeswoman for Energy and Commerce ranking member Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) told The Hill.

Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) said the administration and the state are in a Catch-22, because deep cuts are going to have to come from somewhere.

"It's going to take some sitting down and really negotiating to get a resolution of this, by all parties," Capps told The Hill.

The proposed cuts are "untenable," Capps added, "and that's what we told Dr. Berwick."

At the same time, she acknowledged, if the state's request is rejected Brown will have to make deep cuts elsewhere.

CMS was expected to make a decision by Sept. 30, but it has been delayed as staffers request more information from California. Still, congressional staffers said they're expecting a decision any day.

CMS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.