Willy Halle has retired, and he has appointed Patrick Perlas as his Broker of Record for Willy’s existing accounts. Perlas Insurance has over 34 years of experience providing services to the healthcare industry. Willy will continue to provide insurance services to any new owners or licensees for liability, workers compensation and property through the Perlas Group. Willy will also assist all current clients with their 2025 renewals to make the transition as smoothly as possible. Call Willy at (760) 835-1884 or email him at willyhalle@gmail.com. Patrick can be reached at (818) 468-4017 or emailed at jpatrick@perlasinsurance.com. Willy sends his THANKS to all his past and present clients and to those that provide exceptional care for their residents.
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AB508, the RCFE direct care staffing ratio bill by Assembly Member Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Napa), has advanced in the Legislature. If passed and signed into law, it would require a facility to document a minimum number of “direct care staff” trained to provide care each day, and documentation must be retained in facility records. Upon admission, facilities would be required to disclose daily staffing ratios to residents and representatives and also when implementing rate increases and when increasing a resident’s level of care. Direct care staff includes all employees rendering direct care as defined by the Health and Safety Code 1569.625. Direct care staffing would be “calculated on a daily basis” and exclude ancillary staff—housekeeping, maintenance, marketing, etc. Ms. Aguiar-Curry can be reached at (916) 319-2004.
SB435 was amended to require RCFEs licensed for 16 or more residents to have an “alternative backup source of power” starting in 2028, not 2027, “to protect residents’ health and safety for no fewer than 72 hours during any type of power outage.” The majority of facilities would not be affected. If passed, Health and Safety Code section 1569.695 would be amended and 1569.694 would be added. Senator Aisha Wahab (D-Hayward), the bill’s author, can be reached at (510) 794-3900.
SB434, also proposed by Senator Wahab, would amend Health and Safety Code 1569.683 and add 1569.684 related to resident evictions. It would require up to a 90-day eviction notice solely based upon a resident’s length of stay in the facility. This lengthy eviction notice would also be required when a resident fails to pay facility fees and also include a court appearance. Specific information would be required to be included in an eviction notice such as the licensee’s “reasonable efforts to create a safe discharge plan” such as a list of the resident’s post-eviction needs, goals, and preferences, with a list of discharge locations that meet specified criteria, such as being financially practicable for the resident. The ombudsman could get a copy of the notice. A facility could be fined if it refused a resident’s admission during the 90-day notice of eviction given by a different facility.
SB582 was proposed by Senator Henry Stern (D-Los Angeles, Ventura) who serves as the Chair of Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management. Currently, skilled nursing facilities are required to have emergency disaster plans developed “with the advice and assistance of county or regional and local planning offices.” This bill would amend Health and Safety Code 1569.695 to force all RCFEs to seek the same assistance in developing emergency disaster plans then provide those plans to the medical health operational area coordinator for “local disaster coordination.”
DOGE, Musk, Trump, and Medicaid Cuts
Medi-Cal is California’s largest health care program, and its legislature is attempting to manage and pay for it. Protests against President Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE allude to billions of dollars of benefits being cut to the state’s needy and elderly only to give breaks to the nations’ billionaires. Is that really the truth?
It is not.
The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) just released a report on Medi-Cal stating it is a $174.6 billion program that provides health insurance to nearly 40% of California’s overall population, including 1.6 million illegals. California has twice as many persons on state welfare benefits than New York and three times as many as Texas. KFFs report continued, “Purchase is high because California goes beyond federal eligibility requirements, opening Medi-Cal to more low-income residents. The state also provides a broad range of benefits, such as vision, dental, and maternity care, which are largely paid for by federal dollars, but which also affects state spending.”
Congressional cuts will affect the state’s Medi-Cal funding. However, the cuts are meant to force California to comply with federal eligibility restrictions and reduce welfare fraud and abuse of the program by the state paying out billions to illegal immigrants with the state’s full sanction.
In March, Governor Newsom borrowed billions of dollars to cover the “unexpected overrun in Medi-Cal,” and in April lawmakers allocated billions more to make it through the state’s fiscal year end. Most states do not extend Medi-Cal benefits to adults without dependents, but California does, which escalates the cost of operation. Lawmakers also provide Medi-Cal benefits to persons with disabilities who continue to work and also to state inmates who do not qualify under federal provisions. KFF reports California provides Medi-Cal coverage to persons who work fulltime but have no disabilities.
The Federal Government gives California about $107.5 billion annually or 60% of its Medi-Cal budget. The average annual cost per person in California is $8,000 but can be as high as $21,626 for persons with disabilities. Seniors cost the state approximately $15,000 per year because California “eased the rules for [total] assets people 65 and older could keep and still qualify” for Medi-Cal. The state’s budget manager was just quoted to say 1.6 million illegal immigrants receive $8.4 billion in Medi-Cal benefits.
President Trump said his goal through DOGE is to rid the Medicaid program of consistent fraud and abuse. His critics state the “fraud cuts” would turn into tax cuts for billionaires, but there is no clear evidentiary path that would create such a scenario.
At least 40 states have chosen a “Medicaid expansion” to the Affordable Care Act resulting in the federal government paying for 90% of coverage for nondisabled adults who work and collect benefits. California leaders say federal cuts cannot be absorbed by the state unless, as state Republicans are advocating, benefits to “residents without legal status” end. Newsom and the Democrats are unwilling to do that despite having to recently borrow billions of dollars. Democrats might be willing to cut some benefits to illegals such as eye and dental care.
Newsom said California will have a large surplus of up to $17 billion by next fiscal year allowing it to adopt its “second largest state spending plan ever.” His declaration was made after the destructive fires in Southern California. Part of his “surplus” budget could be because the Legislature is seeking to stick oil refineries and utility companies with the bill for the fire’s devastation, likely to exceed $135 billion. President Trump said he may withhold federal disaster aid to California because of its policies surrounding illegal immigration and voting rights and privileges to illegals. The alleged budget surplus has “given” the governor the ability to form a new state agency to “better coordinate homelessness and housing policies.” However, just last year, one of the state’s nine homeless programs “mislaid” $2 billion in homeless monies according to the state’s Department of Finance “and it could not be traced.” Over one-third of the state’s population pay no taxes but instead collect welfare benefits. The taxpaying population declined over 600,000 people due to citizens escaping the state. So, how is the state claiming the “personal income Californians pay” will account for about 60% of money that goes toward the state’s general fund, where most of the Medi-Cal money originates.
Mike and Robin highly recommend Boris & Amanda Palomino and their program on “How to Build an RCFE” See their website: https://palominoseniorliving.com/calendar