The budget proposal containing massive cuts to MH/DD/SA services and supports was passed out of the Health and Human Services Appropriations Sub-Committee yesterday, despite the concerns of members that it would do significant damage. Their budget proposal now moves up to Full Appropriations and the “Big Chairs” for consideration and approval before moving on to the House floor for a vote.
The Budget still contains the cuts impacting MH/DD/SA we highlighted in our last alert along with many others impacting individuals with disabilities, children, the elderly, and others. For a copy of the budget documents, the “money report” outlining cuts and the special provisions that make policy changes to the programs in the budget, go to the subcommittee reports from Fiscal Research at http://www.ncleg.net/fiscalresearch/subcommittee_reports.shtml
Some examples of cuts in the HHS budget proposal: $74,000,000 in state funds and another 50,000,000 in state direct service funds, special assistance decrease, CAP-MR/DD services are reduced or eliminated, Community Support service is eliminated (33,000 people current receive this service as their clinical home), elimination of the continuation budget in Medicaid, 5.5% (going up to 6% in year two) reduction in provider rates.
The impacts of these cuts are almost unthinkable. Taking away Community Support and eliminating the Medicaid continuation budget means there will be no other services for people to access. The 74 million and 50 million in cuts means elimination of a large array of services including crisis services, START programs, and local inpatient beds for example. In this environment, with the reduction of rates many providers will not be able to survive and those jobs and services will be lost. It’s difficult to estimate the number of people who will fall through the cracks, but we know that admissions to crisis services, hospitals, ERs and institutions will increase.
Your advocacy with Legislators has been working! HHS Committee members asked pointed questions about how these cuts were going to impact the people of our state, especially those with developmental disabilities, mental illness and addictive disease. House leadership phone lines were jammed, and Legislators have noted the many phone calls, emails and letters urging them to stop the cuts and raise taxes to help in this crisis. We believe that Legislators are hearing this message and talking about tax increases, but the fight to ensure these cuts are stopped and people have their needs met is far from over. The Coalition thanks you for all your efforts and urges you to watch out for our next alert on Monday June 8
