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California Chronicle

October 1, 2009

Federal lawsuit to stop cuts in homecare to 130,000 Californians filed today

Seniors, people with disabilities who rely on IHSS Services face a humanitarian disaster, say advocates

San Francisco – Several individuals needing critical assistance to remain safely in their homes, advocates for seniors and people with disabilities, and the unions whose members provide care, today filed suit in federal court in San Francisco to prevent impending cuts in the "In-Home Supportive Services" program, known as IHSS. The class action lawsuit is filed on behalf of four low-income Californians who need IHSS to remain safely at home. The plaintiffs include two children with disabilities who need special care, an 81 year old senior who needs IHSS to remain in her apartment, and a young man with autism and bi-polar disorder whose IHSS provider assists him with basic tasks.

The cuts in IHSS services are scheduled to take effect November 1, 2009. At least 40,000 people will lose services entirely and an additional 97,000 will have their services cut sharply. Among the services to be cut are help with cooking, food shopping, cleaning and assistance to medical appointments – cost-effective services which frail seniors and those with disabilities depend on to avoid more costly placement in institutions such as nursing homes.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit will ask the federal court to issue an injunction to stop the IHSS cuts and avert what Margaret Baran, executive director of the San Francisco IHSS Consortium, said will be a "humanitarian disaster." Other local officials predict that cutting services to this many people will flood emergency rooms and Adult Protective Service. Evie Goldberg, a Los Angeles social worker for 30 years, summarized her experience starkly: "People who are nourished by IHSS, particularly when frail and older, live longer. Those without it don´t live as long."

Experts point out that the planned cutbacks will not save the State money in the long run. "It is less costly to care for people at home. A 2006 study showed that the average… public expenditure on home…based (Medicaid) services is $44,000 less than for a person receiving institutional services," stated Mitch LaPlante, leading disability researcher, University of California at San Francisco, in court papers.