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Columbus
Dispatch…
Kasich tries selling
budget cuts to senior citizens
By Joe Vardon
Thursday, March 17, 2011
CLEVELAND - Now that Ohio Gov. John Kasich has presented his much-hyped
budget, next on his list is to sell his proposal across the state.
Kasich's budget stumping tour began in Cleveland yesterday at a senior
community center, where the goal was to tout the Medicaid reforms
rolled into his two-year, $55.5 billion spending plan.
The governor and some of his department directors touched on Kasich's
general plans to increase care choices for seniors and cut into nursing
homes' pockets, but their delivery was impeded somewhat by his own
tardiness and two tough questions from the audience.
Kasich arrived 57 minutes late to the Fairhill Center for Aging and had
other Cleveland appointments scheduled later, which left time for only
a few questions after the governor finished his presentation.
Sandwiched around a question from a local TV reporter about local
government cuts were two questioners from audience members - one who
accused Kasich of union busting and another who said the administration
had reduced payments to Alzheimer's patient home-care providers by 53
percent.
A woman who identified herself as Barbie Harris asked Kasich why he
"was against unionizing" - a reference to Kasich's support for Senate
Bill 5, which would limit collective-bargaining rights of public
employees.
"I am not against anybody," Kasich said. "We are all in this together
in Ohio. What we're trying to do, ma'am, is balance the people who are
out there working in the private sector against those folks who are
government workers."
Many in the audience applauded after the governor's answer.
Semanthie Brooks, an elder-care professional, later stood up and told
Kasich a line item for Alzheimer's respite care was cut 53 percent in
2012 to $1.9 million. She said about 430,000 people provide home care
for the state's 230,000 people diagnosed with probable Alzheimer's
disease.
Bonnie Kantor-Burman, director of the Ohio Department of Aging who
accompanied Kasich on the trip, said the funds were moved to senior
community services. She said the Alzheimer's-caregiver and
community-services funds were cut 10percent in aggregate.
It was unclear whether the money redirected to the community-services
fund was earmarked for Alzheimer's patient home care, which Brooks said
averages out to $200 monthly payments to providers whose care enables
patients to avoid nursing homes.
"It would seem like a no-brainer to keep that money in there for the
caregivers," Brooks said.
Kasich said his budget will not only cut spending on nursing homes, but
will improve the quality of care in them. Greg Moody, Kasich's director
of health transformation, later explained the improvement would be
accomplished by increasing funding related to patients' needs and
increasing their options for treatment.
Kasich also said he expects his 7 percent cut in funding to nursing
homes to be challenged by legislators influenced by nursing-home
lobbyists.
"We're not going to let them win that," Kasich said. "We're going to
stand tall and make sure our seniors are treated with respect."
Read it at the Columbus Dispatch
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