Studio City-based pharmacist Ira Freeman, of Key Pharmacy, is in his 11th day of a 15 day fast to protest the Gov. Schwarzenegger’s proposed 10 percent Medi-Cal providers cuts, which he believes will negatively affect beneficiaries and the pharmacies that serve them. “Sadly, our most chronically ill patients will become sicker and end up in emergency rooms, which in turn will actually cost the state more,” Freeman said. Freeman serves a high volume of Medi-Cal patients as a volunteer at Valley Community Clinic. Freeman is also concerned about his pharmacist colleagues who serve a heavy Medi-Cal population. “The Medi-Cal population is very vulnerable and these budget cuts put providers in a compromising position of either going out of business or turning patients away,” he said. “It’s a no win situation.”
