Brown Meets With Sebelius To Seek Waivers for Budget Plan
On Tuesday, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) met with HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in Sacramento and requested federal waivers for proposals in his budget plan, the Sacramento Bee's "Capitol Alert" reports.
The waivers would help clear the way for Brown to move forward on his plan to shift responsibility for some state programs to local agencies.
Brown also is seeking federal approval for about $3.8 billion in proposed spending cuts (Siders, "Capitol Alert," Sacramento Bee, 2/8). Federal approval would be required for the governor's plans to cut:
- $1.7 billion from Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program;
- $300 million from in-home health care services; and
- Additional funds from mental health programs.
After discussing the waivers with Sebelius, Brown said the HHS secretary was "receptive, but it isn't worked out yet." He added, "We have still some things to work on" (York, "PolitiCal," Los Angeles Times, 2/8).
The governor said he still plans to seek a two-thirds majority vote in the state Legislature to pass his budget plan ("Capitol Alert," Sacramento Bee, 2/8).
This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.