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Statement from Director Mitchell H. Katz, M.D. on Supreme Court Ruling

Statement from Mitchell H. Katz, M.D.

Director, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services

Supreme Court Ruling a Victory for Los Angeles County’s Uninsured Population

As a result of today’s decision by the Supreme Court to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), over 80% of the 2.2 million people who are currently uninsured in Los Angeles County stand to gain access to affordable insurance coverage.

Over half of these individuals are eligible to receive coverage through Medi-Cal in 2014.  This coverage will be contingent on the State of California’s participation in the Medicaid expansion component of the legislation.   In anticipation of this expansion of Medicaid, the Department of Health Services (DHS) has already enrolled over 200,000 low-income County residents into Healthy Way L.A., the County’s coverage program known as the “Bridge to Reform.”  While the ultimate decision on California’s participation is yet to be determined, the Supreme Court’s decision preserves a path for enrollment into Medi-Cal on January 1, 2014 for these individuals, as well as for three-quarters of a million other low-income Los Angeles County residents.

In addition to those who will be newly eligible for Medi-Cal, three-quarters of a million additional County residents will be able to purchase affordable health insurance through the state’s health insurance exchange, take control of their health, and reduce pressure on our strained County-run health care system.  With a sustained commitment to serve as the safety net for low-income Los Angeles County residents, over the coming 18 months DHS will continue to transform our clinics and hospitals into a system of choice for these newly insured.

Beyond the impact of the ACA’s coverage components, DHS will continue to contend with the effects of other aspects of the legislation.  Notably, this will include efforts to advocate for fair allocation of the Disproportionate Share Hospital funding cuts which were included in the legislation.  These funds are an important revenue stream for Los Angeles County in that they provide a mechanism to reimburse hospitals for provision of uncompensated care.  On this issue, DHS will advocate for a fair level and allocation of DSH funding.  Finally, in recognition of ongoing fiscal challenges at the federal level, DHS will closely monitor the political environment and advocate for fiscal policies that safeguard DHS’ ongoing ability to serve as a safety net provider in Los Angeles County.

Over the coming weeks to months, DHS will continue to assess the full impact of the Supreme Court’s decision and take the steps necessary to secure a robust health care safety net for Los Angeles County residents.

Knabe Statement On Release of 2012-13 Proposed County Budget

Los Angeles County today unveiled its 2012-2013 budget, totaling nearly $23.8 billion.  The proposed budget, which by state law must be balanced, does not require dramatic cuts in critical services or employee layoffs.  Fourth District Supervisor Don Knabe issued the following statement:

“While other levels of government are facing huge cuts in programs, our conservative budget practices in the good times continue to soften the blow. As we manage decreased revenues and increased demand on our safety net services, our labor partners have worked with us to avoid layoffs and furloughs. County employees are also to be commended for finding creative ways to cut costs on the services that are so valuable to our county residents.

The modest growth we are seeing in the economy has resulted in a decrease in our caseloads, and our reform efforts continue to reduce our costs to ensure that limited resources are reaching the people who need them most.

I remain concerned about two key areas that could affect our budget; one, the unknown impact of the state’s realignment programs which are already proving to be underfunded and two, the recent news from the county assessor indicating a potential loss of $50 million in revenue.   Last week the Board ordered an immediate audit so that we can manage the situation quickly and with limited service impacts, if possible.”

The Board of Supervisors will conduct public hearings on the budget at its May 16th meeting.  More information is available at www.lacounty.gov.

Probation Department Begins Training to Combat Child Sex Trafficking

The Probation Department and Juvenile Delinquency Court has been awarded $350,000 per year, for the next three years, to implement a comprehensive, multidisciplinary program for sexually trafficked females in the juvenile justice system.

Over the past several years Los Angeles County has seen a significant increase in the number of sexually trafficked youth, and is recognized among law enforcement as one of the major hubs for sex trafficking in the State and Nation.  Currently the county lacks victim centered services for sexually trafficked youth who are in the juvenile justice system.

The proposed program will be a part of a partnership with the Courts, Federal and local law enforcement agencies, medical/mental health services, and community providers. The goal is to develop an effective partnership and diversion process that includes rehabilitative services for sexually exploited youth who are currently in the criminal justice system in Los Angeles County.

The program will be funded by the newly awarded Title II Formula Block Grant that supports state and local delinquency prevention, intervention efforts, and juvenile justice system improvements.   The pilot program will include medical and mental health assessment, enhanced supervision, focused treatment and services either within a placement program or in the community, mentoring, and aftercare.

For more information about the new training program, please contact Michelle Guymon at (626)236-5405 or Hania Cardenas at (562) 335-7760.

Proposed State budget cuts resources, not problems

It’s that time again. Governor Brown issued his proposed budget a little ahead of schedule (a staffer accidentally posted it to the web!). This year is a lot like last year – a combination of tax increases and deep cuts to services. As usual, the lion’s share of the cuts will fall on the most vulnerable in our communities.  Should these cuts go through as proposed, 179,000 low income families and 109,000 physically disabled individuals across Los Angeles County would lose their benefits.  This will create a new demand for services at the county level at a time when our caseloads are higher than ever.

The resources may go away, but the problems won’t. Once again, Sacramento is looking to fix its budget problems on the backs of counties.  It is my hope that the Governor and Legislature will defy the disappointing trend of the last several years and actually come to agreement on a budget that is reasonable and supportive of our core responsibilities at the local level.

Eco-Elf Patrol Giveaway Events Continue Throughout Los Angeles County

Los Angeles County Public Works’ Eco-Elf Patrol continues to visit local stores and libraries to hand out free reusable shopping bags to customers.

Shoppers are also reminded of the January 1, 2012, ban on single-use plastic bags and encouraged to bring their reusable bags when they shop to avoid paying 10 cents for a paper bag.

The free giveaway events will continue through December 22. Quantities are limited. Customers are advised to check the store listings to confirm date and time of the events. To learn more about the single-use plastic bag ban and to find the Eco-Elf Patrol visit www.aboutthebag.com or follow us on twitter @CleanLA.

December 20, 2011

  • Dollar Tree, 17440 Colima Road, Rowland Heights, 91745 (11am-noon)
  • Los Altos Market, 1019 West Carson Street, West Carson, 90502 (1pm-2pm)
  • 99 Cent Only Store, 1120 South Hacienda Blvd., Hacienda Heights, 91745 (2:30pm-3:30pm)

Click here to view a complete list of events.

Redistricting: Moving Past Racial Politics and Partisanship

This week, the Board of Supervisors began its review of the Plan A2 Redistricting Map, which was approved by the Boundary Review Committee.  Let me start by saying:  Wow!  I want to thank all of you who took the time to come downtown to testify.  I know it was a long day for many of you.

As we have been discussing and was certainly evident on Tuesday, the Fourth District is the most vulnerable to dramatic changes.  Under another alternative discussed, over 1 million residents would be shifted into or out of our district.  As many of you said, that will destroy the connections and relationships we have built over decades.

Some of the discussion and news coverage have turned redistricting into a racial divide.  But they are getting the story wrong; it’s not about race.  The Fourth District is the most diverse in the County, with Whites, Latinos, Asian-Americans, African-Americans and many other minority groups. Under the plan I submitted on Tuesday, Latinos represent the largest population at 43% of our district.  I have always welcomed diversity in our district and loved getting to know the many cultures we have in our communities.  My staff and I have worked hard to gain your trust, learn your issues and be as responsive as we can be.

While I really appreciate the very kind words that were said at the hearing, it’s also not about me.  It’s about you and your neighborhoods, communities and cities.  You’ve been loud and clear that you do not want to be moved, and I agree with you.  I can’t support splitting up longstanding communities of interest just because some lawyers say we might get sued.

In fact, the County’s independent legal counsel has determined that Plan A2 clearly meets the County’s obligations under the Voting Rights Act.  As such, any dramatic changes are unnecessary and undeserved.  We’ve heard a clear message from all of you that have come down and testified and written nearly 1500 letters that you don’t want to be needlessly reassigned to different districts.  We should respect those wishes and side with the people of Los Angeles County.

Our next review meeting is September 6th.  It is my hope that we will move past the racial politics and partisanship and focus on what you elected us to do: solve problems and help those in need.

As always, thank you so much for your support!

Supervisor Knabe Statement on the Passing of the State Budget

Yesterday, the California state legislature passed a 2011-2012 budget reflecting funding cuts and revenue increases that close the state’s remaining $9.6 billion deficit.  The legislature had a constitutional deadline of midnight to approve the budget or their salaries would be docked for each day it was late.  The budget now moves to Governor Jerry Brown, who had already signed $11.2 billion in cuts to shrink the deficit by more than half.

“We’ve been working with the Governor and the legislature on this budget for over six months and it comes to an end with a rush job to push something through at the final hour.  Unfortunately, the legislature appears more concerned about getting their salary than getting their job done.  The approved budget is chock full of deferred payments, unrealistic projections and other financial gimmicks that do not address the fundamental structural issues California faces in delivering services to its residents.  And who pays in the end?  Local communities, which will foot the bill to preserve state-mandated public safety programs, while absorbing the impact of underfunded schools, decimated children’s programs and slashed redevelopment efforts.  We implore Governor Brown to find a compromise position that guarantees funding to local governments for the services we will now be asked to provide.  They cannot just dump their problems and cross their fingers – it will spell disaster for local governments.”

Knabe Launches “You Draft the Budget” Website

Today, Los Angeles County CEO Bill Fujioka presents a proposed annual budget to the Board of Supervisors.  To help constituents understand the context and breadth of services that make up the County’s over $23 billion budget, Supervisor Don Knabe has launched a “You Draft the Budget” tool on his website, knabe.com. Constituents can access the site to start drafting their budget by going to knabe.com/draftthebudget.

“This is the first step in a process that will launch our new fiscal year on July 1st.  As yet, we don’t know the impact of the State and Federal budgets and how they will affect County services.  The County budget is different than the State and many city budgets because nearly 90% of it is for programs that the Federal and State governments mandate us to provide,” said Supervisor Knabe.  “With a budget over $23 billion, we do know it’s complicated!  We wanted to give people a chance to ‘follow the money’ and learn more about all the programs the County provides.  So, we’re launching this web-based tool to try to explain the County budget and all of our services in a simple and interactive way.”

Supervisor Knabe will also be hosting an online Town Hall meeting on Thursday, April 21st at 2:30pm to update constituents on recent County activities and to discuss the budget.  To view the Town Hall, go to Ustream (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ask-don-live1) and click the play button. Questions for the Supervisor can be submitted in advance through Twitter@DonKnabe.com or emailed to Ask Don or posted on Facebook.

You can also view the online Town Hall through Facebook by going to http://www.facebook.com/SupervisorKnabe and clicking the play button. Utilizing this feature will allow you to send a question to the Supervisor real time and chat with other viewers about the topics discussed by the Supervisor. Viewers will only be able to submit a live question and chat if they have a Facebook account, but anyone can watch the live town hall without a Facebook account.

Knabe Advocates for Protection of County Services in State Budget Crisis

At today’s Board of Supervisors’ meeting, Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe brought forth a motion instructing the County CEO to continue working with Governor Brown’s Administration and the State Legislature on issues affecting the County because of the State budget crisis.

A critical component of the Governor’s proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2011-12 State budget is a Realignment Proposal, which shifts responsibility for certain programs and services from the State to counties.   The proposal includes new responsibilities for the Sheriff’s Department and the Probation Department, including housing of some low-level offenders in county jails going forward and overseeing certain adult parolees.  Supervisor Knabe has been advocating for a Constitutional Amendment to guarantee long-term funding for these or any other programs moved to Counties.

“We have been working with the Governor and the Legislature for several weeks to ensure that the State does not balance its budget on the backs of Counties,” said Supervisor Knabe, who also serves as the Board’s executive representative on the California State Association of Counties (CSAC), which has been negotiating with the Governor.  “The stakes are too high and we cannot compromise our ability to provide critical safety net services for our most at-risk residents.  We must be at the table continuing to ensure that we can keep our streets safe, protect vulnerable children, and provide vital mental health services.   While I continue to be concerned about the viability of the State’s proposal, we must continue to push on those issues that are most important to the people of Los Angeles County.”