Dental services are being slashed in California, US, thanks to ex-Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The former movie tough guy is planning to cut dental benefits for the poorest families in his capacity as governor of state.
According to his budget summary released today, the cuts could amount to more than one-third of the programme.
This will affect more than 6.6 million beneficiaries, including the disabled and elderly.
The star of the series of action-hero movies, The Terminator, is proposing millions of dollars in immediate cuts to California’s 2007-08 Medi-Cal budget, which includes a programme called Denti-Cal that provides dental care to many vulnerable California citizens.
Governor Schwarzengger is not only proposing a 10% cut in dental reimbursement rates, but also to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in the 2008-09 budget year, including eliminating the entire programme that provides dental care to adults.
