I dont understand why these and other healthcare
areas are being cut. Isnt Washington receiving FMAP stimulus money? Have the looked to see how these cuts will increase hospitalizations, nursing home admits, mental health benefits etc? NO they havent, because I was in a meeting with the govenors office on Wednesday, and was told that they are not looking at that, but are indeed only trying to balance the budget. And, they are deciding what is really NECESSARY. I am completely frustrated, and VERY concerned that the public does not understand the downfall that these cuts will bring. The public just thinks that it doesn't affect them because they are not on medicaid. BUT IT DOES!

On April 1st, DSHS is cutting pharmacy reimbursments to BELOW COST! This makes no sense! How can a pharmacy continue to serve our community, and the people in need at a NEGATIVE reimbursement? The fact is they can't! I encourage people to call the govenors office and make our state goverment accountable to where they are spending FMAP stimulus money.
Maybe they should look at cutting their salaries below the cost of living and survive.....

Call Governor Gregoire today and urge her to STOP the pharmacy cuts by appropriately using the FMAP stimulus money.

Call Governor Gregoire: (360) 902-4111 OR Fax the Governor a Letter: 360-753-4110

Contact these key legislative leaders TODAY

House of Representatives Leadership:
Speaker Frank Chopp – chopp.frank@leg.wa.gov
Democrat Leader Lynn Kessler – Kessler.lynn@leg.wa.gov

Senate Leadership:
Democrat Leader – Lisa Brown – brown.lisa@leg.wa.gov
Democrat Caucus Chair – Ed Murray – murray.edward@leg.wa.gov
Democrat Floor Leader – Tracey Eide – eide.tracey@leg.wa.gov

Key Budget Writers:
Representative Kelli Linville – linville.kelli@leg.wa.gov
Representative Mark Ericks – ericks.mark@leg.wa.gov
Representative Eric Pettigrew – Pettigrew.eric@leg.wa.gov
Representative Hans Dunshee – dunshee.hans@leg.wa.gov

Senator Rodney Tom – tom.rodney@leg.wa.gov
Senator Margarita Prentice – prentice.margarita@leg.wa.gov
Senator Craig Pridemore – pridemore.craig@leg.wa.gov
Senator Karen Keiser – keiser.karen@leg.wa.gov

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Even if you dont know what to say, but know that these cuts are crazy and you want to know where the money is being spent, contact the govenors office TODAY!

This is an outrage! Washington state is wanting to cut programs that help protect the needy, in order to give tax breaks to businesses? That is simply wrong.
The Poor, those living on food stamps to eat, those in Section 8 housing, those who cant afford their rent and medicine, those who can not afford even once in a while to eat out.. "those" are the people that the state is wanting to cut programs for? What about those on Medicaid,those who cant afford a doctor, those who are hurting..

Here is a better option: Rather than cutting programs to feed the rich, why not give "these" people a break.

Find somewhere else to cut spending.
I am mad now, Thanks washington state.

No higher taxes. The working people are carring too much of the programs now through taxes.

Need to learn to live within our means.

I work in the healthcare field and I want to know why we are helping those who come to this country and do not contribute financially. We need to help our own first, I do not discriminate against people migrating to America but they need to work and pay taxes just like the rest of us not just come here and get government handouts.I am struggling myself but if I were to ask for assistance I would be laughed at in my face even though I pay a boat load of taxes.

Ok here is the scoop. At this point with every single budget shortfall- it is the poor who pay for it all. At this rate, the state might as well close all the programs for the poor period.
Then, when they still find budget shortfalls in the future, its not the poor paying for it.

The pharmacy cutbacks are an outrage. The Governor in her infinite wisdom is cutting pharmacy reimbursements to below our costs. The pharmacies will not be able to afford to supply the brand name drugs that people need. The people that I see as being the most affected will be the following: HIV patients and mental health patients. These patients take many drugs that are only available in brand name and therefore the pharmacies, with the reduced reimbursements,will lose money if dispensing them. We will not be able to do this. If the patients can't get these drugs they will end up in the hospital. Does that sound like a money saving venture to you???

Believe me on this. I own and operate a small pharmacy in Spokane. My pharmacy supports 5 families. If and when these cuts take place we will be forced to stop providing brand name meds to DSHS patients and we will be forced to make cutbacks in staff.
This pharmacy has been in operation for over 50 years. Funny how it has done fine until this particular government leadership has taken over!

I would encourage everyone to contact the Governor immediatley.

two words UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE

the government needs to investigate the people applying for these handouts before we give it to them. I work in a community that has a lot of DSHS patients and most of them are driving expensive SUV's and carrying designer bags and wearing designer clothes. If they can afford these amminities then they can stop relying on the government to give them these handouts. If you are on a state program and do not work then you should have to do atleast 20 hours a week volunteering at a state agency or a food bank or homeless shelter.

Pharmacy and many health programs aee being cut?

what happened to the 324 Milliom The Fedral Goverment has ALREADY given the state??

I have requested the spending of that from the Govenor...no response.

I guess I ask the US Attoreney Attorney next.

AND how many state Employees have been reduced?

NONE

Of course the senior day care should be cut. If you are outraged by such a cut, and you are not volunteering at a senior center ... why not? This is the sort of thing government does that it SHOULD NOT be doing at all, let alone during a recession, because it's the thing that can easily be done by local community volunteers.

And if the local community won't pitch in to do it, then I guess they don't care enough for it to be done. Oh right, but they vote for someone else to do it? That's a weak excuse. Most people do nothing for their local community, but then they complain that about the lack of services. It's lunacy.

When we talk about shared sacrifice, let's talk about cutting government services that volunteers can do instead.

I work in a small pharmacy that has been in business for over 40 years. When the cuts in the reimbursement rates hit pharmacies before we were forced to cut back in staffing. Now we are at the point where we can no longer cut anymore staff & run the pharmacy. How can the governor think that this is a sound decision? I keep hearing we want to build our community & keep our local businesses yet then we see cuts like these to run our businesses out of business. Please Call Governor Gregoire and tell her: No More Cuts In Reimbursements To Pharmacy!!

The Social Safety net is critical. I'm shocked at the levels of budget cuts being considered. Without alternative care, hospital emergency rooms will become primary care centers. As for pharmacy cuts, the state should consider managing what it pays for, create competition between brand drugs that do the same thing like Lipitor and Crestor, require generics when available...this is what private drug programs do. I get simvastatin because my plan covers Lipitor as a third tier drug. Can't the State access the special pricing that the VA or Commuity Health Centers receive. If pharmacies stop providing drugs, where will these people go? What about the small towns outside of Seattle/Tacoma and Spokane where ther are only one or two pharmacies.

Here is my information about this crime! We have an anti-discrimination law in this state which states that NO person is to be harassed or discriminated against. But, Now we are cutting most of the programs for the disabled! Hell I thought it was a crime punishable to a year in jail, or at least that is what the RCW states. Bit I don’t see anyone going to jail or even going to court with these cuts. Now I guess that the State of Washington HATES the disabled to the fact that they are cutting more of the needs and safety of the disabled.
Some of these people on the program are Veterans waiting for the Veterans Administration to finish processing the Service Related Claims! So, now Washington, prove that you really support Veterans, or just start wearing shirts that state, “Welcome to Washington, if disabled GET OUT”! Most of us know that the “Normal” people in the state want to get rid of us and that they really don’t care about the disabled or even Veterans. Now it is time to prove most of us who watch wrong. Call your Representatives to get the GAU program reinstated. Or just turn your back on Veterans again!

Washington State is in an unprecendented economic situation but the last thing that should be considered is impose devastating cuts to community pharmacies. Medicaid is desperately clinging to the false claim that this drastic reimbursement cut will have a minimal impact. It’s a shame because the community pharmacies on the front lines of our health care system protect patients by ensuring safe and appropriate medication use. These healthcare providers will be in jeopardy of closing their doors to their patients.

There will definitely be a cost to all patients in the form of decreased access to safe and high quality care provided by pharmacies. Community pharmacists provide a necessary level of protection against medication errors and misuse as well as the accurate, safe and timely delivery of medications to patients every day. Forcing pharmacies out of business is going to put the public at risk for dangerous consequences. Every patient that is hurt from ramifications of these cuts is a direct result of DSHS’s disregard for the care and safety protections provided by pharmacists.

The state does need to save money and utilizing medication specialists is the answer. Pharmacists are in complete support of the responsible use of our tax payer money and the use of generics medications when appropriate. In fact, pharmacists help their patients to obtain the most cost effective medications on a daily basis. However, it is absolutely absurd to penalize pharmacies for providing patients with the medication that was prescribed by their physician. They value and respect the prescriber-patient-pharmacist relationship. Severely reducing the reimbursement to pharmacies will not change physician prescribing patterns, it will only make it more difficult for patients to obtain the valuable medications they require to keep them alive and out of the hospital.

I want to know why the tool that was discussed, that the state departments use every year to assess which are high priority items, mid priority and low priority items. How come Up front did not summarize this ACTUAL priority list created by state employees and have that as a feature of this story. So many times the most vulnerable individuals that cannot fight - children, disabled, elderly, single parents, working poor - our programs are the first to go! Because there will not be much of a fight...all of us are so busy surviving we have no fight in us!
I want to know why some BIG TICKET items such as that damn tunnel to nowhere are never put on the chopping block. Here we have already voted and the citizen's say they do not want it but here Gregoire and Plastic Man Nickels are pushing it through anyways. Where are the sane government officials that do nowt operate strictly from their power and privaledge but from compassion for the average struggling citizen?

Your recent Upfront presentation on the social safety net was not news reporting but rather pandering to an uniformed public using deceptive and misleading presentations by a panel of biased people whom were presented as "experts". Your use of anecdotal evidence is most depressing and distorting. Like most government programs there are about 20% whom are in serious need, 20% whom game the system, and the rest in between. This program like most government programs are staffed by people whom have no inherent interest in solving the problem but rather have an interest in expanding the program. Whom do they think has to pay for these programs? Your panelist appear to view the public purse as theirs to use as they see fit and if there is any left over then the public may use that, temporarily.

Your budget analyst had a much more constructive view, you should have presented both sides of the budget debate if you want to inform the public. Trotting out a panel of bureaucrats to defend their program is meaningless.

Adult Day Health is not adult day care. Adult Day Health programs provide nursing and rehab services to the elderly and disabled. The goal is to delay or avoid nursing home placement. The people in Adult Day Health programs are not cheating the system. They have traumatic brain injuries,dementia,strokes,Parkinson's,MS, etc. Not one of these people planned to have these issues so they could "cheat the system." ADH provides support and preventative care so these people can live at home longer. Any one of us could end up needing ADH services. It only takes one car accident, one blood clot, or one disease diagnosis for any of us to end up in a similar situation. If it was me, I personally would want the option of staying at home with the help of an ADH program. The state would be foolish to cut such a program. It costs per person approx. $7000/year for ADH and $65,000/year for a nursing home. If our elderly and disabled sit around at home and let their conditions exacerbate, they will soon end up crowding our hospitals, ERs, and nursing homes. We have a nursing shortage and our huge baby boomer population is aging. If we eliminate creative, preventative health care programs like Adult Day Health, we are looking at a financial and healthcare disaster in the near future. Please call the legislative hotline and tell your legislator that Adult Day Health needs to be funded. 1-800-562-8000

Correction: The Legislative Hotline number is 1-800-562-6000

I am the president of the board here at ROAR of Washington, a non-profit organization in Seattle/King Co. existing to break the cycle of homelessness. We get 40-70 calls every day asking for help with rent, deposits, utitlites, bus tickets, lunches, etc. A large number of homeless people who finally get onto GAU can finally efford to pay 30% of their incomes and get into housing. We help them pay the deposit so they can get off the streets. If GAU gets cut, we will be saturated with all of those people who are finally off the streets who will no longer be able to pay their rent, and simply exist. This is an outrage. The cost to our society on health care alone will be staggering if GAU is cut. Crime will go up, mentally ill people on meds will suffer and have no place to turn with out a good mental illness institution for them to live in. Western use to be where we sent these people, but they were released, and put on GAU. Come down to ROAR to see how many people depend on GAU. Maybe the governer's mansion can house these people if she decides to cut GAU. Elizabeth 206-910-3009

NO tax hikes or anything else disguised to increase revenue. It's time this state (and the federal government) do what the rest of us have to do...LIVE WITHIN THEIR MEANS! If that means cut all the state programs that allow illegals, deadbeats and criminals to live off the taxpayers money, then SO BE IT! We can't keep everything, so CUTTING spending must be the option. Olympia has been spending for so long, they don't have a clue.

I would like to echo the comments about the devastating effect these cuts would have on healthcare in Washington State. I am currently a pharmacy student, and it is clear to me that these cuts are not only inhibiting quality of care and patient access now, but creating a hostile environment for pharmacists entering the workforce in the future. Cohorts in my program have voiced concern about the state's approach to healthcare, and are considering employment in other states as a result. Although the state is attempting to save money, I am staggared that state decision makers have disconnected these cuts with the simultaneous decline in healthcare and enormously ballooned costs due to increased emergency room and hospital stays. The conversation we should be having is how to save money through INCREASED pharmacy services so that the popluation stays healthy. I wonder how many blood pressure presciptions could be paid for by avoiding one heart attack with the accompanying week-long stay in the hospital. I wonder how much increased cost there is to the state as they pay for numerous prescriptions when people get really sick verses the cost of paying for one brand-name prescription to to keep them healthy. I hope decision makers lengthen their view to see the crisis these cuts create for the state.

Another thing I see is the Govenor lack of oversite of Uniform Health Care.

Doing a health care test on line gets me $30 gift Card that, all I see are for out of state owned companies that don't support local communities, and are a waste. Preventive Health care is important, but the reward should be to local companies in the State, not internet sites

Let's not cut funding to Adult Day Health; these Health Centers meet a very important and unique need in our community.

What is an Adult Day Health Center?

Adult Day Health Centers (ADHC) have been in existence since the early 1970’s in the State of Washington. The Adult Day Health (ADH) program serves a population of frail, elderly individuals as well as individuals with dementia and other disabilities, both mental and physical. The Participants of the Center are generally low income. Often times these Participants were productive, working members of our community and as they grew older, their medical needs overwhelmed their ability to cover their medical costs. In other cases, our Participants were born with severe physical and/or mental issues that limited their ability to seek productive employment.

ADH staff work to improve or maintain a Participant’s current health status and level of functioning, and to maximize their potential for independent living. The Adult Day Health program is not intended to provide acute health care or rehabilitative services, but rather longer term maintenance with the goal of allowing individuals to remain in their current living environment for as long as possible.

Adult Day Health programs offer access to centralized Health and Rehabilitative services designed to help older adults and handicapped persons remain as independent as possible for as long as possible. Usually each Participant attends the ADHC an average of 2 – 3 times each week, for a minimum of 4 hours each attendance day. Some Participants use the ADHC for a few months and are no longer in need of our services, while other Participants have been coming to the Center 2 - 3 times each week for a number of years.

The staff is made up of health care professionals: RNs, LPNs, Occupational Therapists (OTs), Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants (COTAs), Social Workers, and Activity Coordinators along with Program Aides, Cooks and support staff. In addition to the specific clinical or therapeutic skill each professional brings to the Center, they act as educators and provide special classes and activities each day, including discussions of health issues, current events, exercise, therapy, arts, and crafts, reminiscence, history, weight loss, gardening, sign language, cooking, reading, dealing with grief and loss, health classes, and walking programs. The professional staff also acts as case managers, providing critical links to other community services, physicians, caregivers, other area case managers, and housing providers.

Health and rehabilitative services are provided, with an emphasis on assessment, intervention, education, and prevention of medical problems. The ADHC is able to provide intense nursing and therapy services and interventions because it’s highly trained, permanent staff is familiar with each Participant and is able to consistently implement individual treatment plans that maintain the Participant’s health and preserves their independence. In addition to the nursing and rehabilitative therapy provided, the ADHC also offers activities such as dancing, singing groups, storytellers and special speakers, all provided with the goal of increasing or maintaining the Participants health and independence level. Nutritious hot meals, which meet each Participant’s special diet requirements, are served daily during each program. Nutritional needs are monitored closely and all food is required to meet the USDA standards.

Each Participant is evaluated by a multi-disciplinary team which develops an individual treatment plan to guide staff regarding the Participant’s health, therapy and psychosocial needs. This plan is reviewed quarterly or sooner if special needs arise.

A few examples of the many success stories of the Adult day Health are:

• People who have been in their wheelchairs for years were finally be able to get out of the chair by themselves, because of the skill and attention provided by the ADHC’s therapy staff.
• A blind, diabetic patient had his legs saved from amputation, because the ADHC’s nursing staff worked with the physician and an external vendor to obtain compression therapy hose for his legs and then ensured that he was faithful to the treatment regime.
• Caregivers have said that the only way that they could keep their love one’s at home was because the ADHC provided a place to send their loved one’s while they got a few hours of respite during the day.

Please contact the Governer, your State Senators, and Representatives today to tell them to fully funding Adult Day Health.

Thank you from all of us!