California's unemployment insurance deficit shrinking slowly

Although California's once-dismal employment picture is slowly improving, the state's Unemployment Insurance Fund is not only plagued by digital glitches, but is still paying out more in benefits than employers are paying into the UIF in taxes, according to a new report from the state Department of Employment Development.

Some other revenue, including earnings on fund balances, are offsetting the shortfall, so the immense deficit in the UIF, $10.2 billion at the end of 2012, will decline fractionally to $9.7 billion by the end of this year, the EDD report predicts, then continue to decline as employment improves and insurance benefit payouts drop.

The UIF deficit has been covered by loans from the federal government, on which the state is now paying interest, and the feds have also boosted their share of employers' payroll taxes to begin repaying the debt.

The department predicts that the UIF deficit will shrink to $7 billion by the end of 2015 as unemployment drops from 1.9 million workers in 2012 to 1.3 million in 2015 and payouts decline from $6.6 billion in 2012 to $5.7 billion in 2015.

Employers paid $5.4 billion into the UIF in 2012 and that is expected to increase to $6.2 billion in 2015. Additionally, the boost in federal taxes to repay the debt is expected to surpass $600 million this year and $1 billion by 2015.

The UIF pays basic benefits to unemployed workers and benefit extensions have been financed by the federal government. But due to the state's improving job picture, the 100 percent federally financed extension, which paid out $7.2 billion to jobless Californians in 2012, and $4.6 billion this year, will end on Dec. 31.

Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed changes in the unemployment insurance program to improve its ability to cope with economic downturns, but the Legislature has so far refused to act.

PHOTO: Former and current high school students attend a junior college exploration workshop sponsored by the Greater Sacramento Urban League. One of every three new high school graduates not going to college in the Sacramento region couldn't find work last year, census figures showed. The high school classes of 2009 and 2010 were about 40 percent less likely to find jobs out of school than their counterparts from three years prior. The Sacramento Bee/Randy Pench

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California health centers receive $21.9 million in federal grants

The LifeLong Medical Care center in Berkeley has received $236,826 in federal grants to help enroll uninsured patients in new health care coverage options.

On Wednesday, Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced $150 million in grants for health centers nationwide, $21.9 million of which will go to 129 California health centers to assist Americans in exploring insurance options made available by the Affordable Care Act.

According to Linda Collins, patient services manager at LifeLong Medical Care, the center is planning to use the funding to hire new outreach and enrollment staff members. The center expects to add seven new staff members to the current team of 12, and they will be involved in enrollment and outreach.

As part of its outreach efforts, the LifeLong Medical Care center will meet the community at churches and schools as well as host events and collaborations with statewide partners.

Collins said that LifeLong Medical Care currently serves more than 30,000 patients and intends to increase the number of patients by at least 6,000 by the end of the enrollment period in March.

LifeLong Medical Care has helped many Berkeley residents over the course of 37 years with a variety of services.

“They had a class on smoking,” said Johnnie Mae Poindexter, a 93-year-old patient at LifeLong. “They helped me to quit smoking. I smoked for 53 years.”

Health centers across the nation aim to enroll 3.7 million people with the help of 2,900 additional workers. In California, health centers are expected to hire 411 additional workers with the grants and enroll 575,863 residents, Sebelius said.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, health centers in California served 3.2 million patients last year, and 42 percent were uninsured.

“With these awards, consumers will get help understanding their coverage options through the new Health Insurance Marketplace, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (and) determine their eligibility and what financial help they can get, so they can enroll in new affordable health care options,” said Martin Kramer, director of communications for the Health Resources and Services Administration, in an email.

The HRSA announced the availability of funds in May and accepted applications from health centers. 1,159 out of 1,200 health centers were awarded grants.

“These awards are one piece of the enrollment effort,” Kramer said in the email.

Yolie Gamble, clinic director at the LifeLong Medical Care center in West Berkeley, said that many patients were currently unaware that they could be treated and have the costs covered.

“More patients will know they have coverage and feel they’re not going to go into huge debt,” Gamble said. “I think it’s opening up people’s eyes.”

Contact Somin Park at sominpark@dailycal.org.

Via http://www.dailycal.org