While the expansion of the Assisted Living Waiver easily passed last year, it was nevertheless vetoed by Governor Brown. It is presumed that the reason for which is that the Administration felt it should be reviewed year by year on a budgetary cycle. Today the cap is at 5,700 and the wait list has grown to over 4,000. Mark Cimino, CEO of CiminoCare, has joined (see letter below) California Assisted Living Association and many others, in supporting the new bill presented by Assembly Member Ash Kalra, AB 50, will once again request the expansion of the program from its current limit to 18,500 and expand the program state wide. The bill will be heard this coming Tuesday, April 23rd, before the Assembly Health Committee.
A basic tenant of the ALW program is “cost-neutrality,” which means the program should not add cost to the state, but would either be neutral, or actually produce savings. Thus, there is no reason not to expand this program and bring choice to more Medi-Cal beneficiaries.
AB 50 will also ensure there is wait list transparency, so people will know their position on the list and when they are likely to reach the top and ensure adequate reimbursement to Assisted Living providers delivering these services.
For those interested in sending letters of support, please see Mr. Cimino’s letter below and feel free to use as a template and modify per your own experience or concerns. The instructions for uploading letters to the committee are as follows:
- Go to the following website: https://calegislation.lc.ca.gov/Advocates/
- Create an account by filling out the required information
- A password will be emailed to you once you have completed creating the account.
- Use your email and password to log in and submit your letters
If you are not able to submit a letter using the online portal, please use these fax numbers:
916-319-2127 or 916-319-3902
