SENATOR LOU CORREA VISITS LOCAL CLINICS AS BUDGET IMPASSE BEGINS TO HURT HIS CONSTITUENTSSANTA ANA – State Senator Lou Correa today visited Lestonna Free Clinic in Orange and Acacia Adult Daycare Center in Garden Grove and saw firsthand the impact of the seven-weeks delayed California State Budget on his local consitutents. Hospitals, nursing homes, childcare centers, health clinics, community colleges and many other service agencies have not been paid by the State of California due to the budget impasse.
“It is a sad situation – real people are being hurt,â€Âsaid Senator Correa. “We need to pass the budget and continue on with the responsibilities that our constituents entrusted in us as their representatives.â€Â
Senator Correa was joined by Isabella Becerra, Interim Director of the Coalition of Orange County Community Clinics, at Lestonna Free Clinic who discussed the impact of the delayed state budget on the 47 community clinics who provide services to the most vulnerable populations in Orange County. At Acacia Adult Daycare Center, Executive Director Mallory Vega shared with Senator Correa that the center has outstanding $97,000 in payments and will grow to over $100,000 in the next two weeks.
It is estimated that over $3 billion in paychecks and bills will go unpaid by the end of this month to these agencies. Of all those affected, nursing homes, child-care providers and health clinics are most impacted by the budget delay since their income is heavily dependent on the state. More than 11,000 nursing homes and adult day care providers that are dependent on the Medi-Cal payments have missed over $400 million in Medi-Cal payments and may not be able to provide anymore services to those in need.
Senator Lou Correa currently represents the 34th district which includes the cities Anaheim, Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Westminster, Stanton, Buena Park, and Fullerton.
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I don’t understand why this isn’t front page news EVERY DAY.
People are suffering. The lack of a budget in the middle of August is SHAMEFUL.