Mental Health Association in North Carolina
May Policy Update
May 29, 2008
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In this issue:
Successful Advocacy Day! Join us for Coalition Breakfasts
LOC Report, Budget Recommendations Released
Governor Budget Released, General Assembly Budget on Fast Track
Bills to Watch
Successful Advocacy Day! Join us for Coalition Breakfasts: The Coalition (formerly Coalition 2001), and its members including MHA-NC, had another successful Rally at the General Assembly on May 21st. Hundreds of advocates from across the state urged Legislators to fund quality, accessible services and supports for people with mental illness, developmental disabilities and the disease of addiction.
Not able to join us at the Rally? Consider visiting with your Legislators in a small group over breakfast arranged by The Coalition. Central Regional Breakfast is Wednesday June 4th, Eastern Region Breakfast is Wednesday June 18, and the Western Regional Breakfast is Tuesday June 24th. For more information on which counties are included in each region, please see the registration form on our website at http://www.mha-nc.org/english/index.php/Breakfast-Registration-Form.html or contact Erin McLaughlin at 919-981-0740 x507 or
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.
LOC Report and Budget Recommendations released: The Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on MH/DD/SAS has finished meeting for this interim between sessions and has released its 2008 Report to the General Assembly. The report recommendations are divided into three main sections: expenditure of service dollars, state operated services and services in the community. Some of the recommendations include adjusting the timing and method of distributing state (IPRS) service dollars to the LMEs to ensure funds are better utilized, encouraging the designation of "single-stream" funding to LMEs, conducting an evaluation of the MH/DD/SAS system, expanding the hospital utilization pilot, and simplifying the Medicaid appeals process for recipients and applicants. In all there are 26 recommendations, including 42 million dollars in expansion funding. Proposed statute changes have been drafted into bill form and are included in the report.
MHA-NC will continue to follow the appropriations and policy changes recommended by the LOC and will report on specific items as they are considered by Legislative committees during session. The full 2008 LOC report can be found here:
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/DocumentSites/browseDocSite.asp?nID=20&sFolderName=\LOC%20Reports
Governor Budget Released, General Assembly Budget on Fast Track:
The Governor has released his budget adjustments for the 2008-2009 budget years with a goal of reducing overall spending by 170 million dollars. Of notable exception is an increase in pay for teachers and the Health and Human Services budget, the latter containing a 217 million dollar increase along with 100 million in cuts. MH/DD/SAS services received 68 million in proposed increases including 21 million in support for short term psychiatric stays, 7 million for mobile crisis teams, 5.4 million for state institution staffing, 5.2 million for beds at the Dix annex, 4.3 million for DD crisis START programs, and 4.2 million for walk-in aftercare. Proposed cuts include 2 million from Vocational Rehabilitation and 27 million from Community Support (in part by reducing hourly maximum to 8 hours per week). The proposal also includes a freeze on Medicaid inflationary increases for providers, in a time when most when most Medicaid enhanced benefit providers are seeing increases in costs. The Governor proposes to pay for many of the budget increases with increased taxes on cigarettes and alcohol.
The General Assembly Leadership has stated that there will be no new taxes to support expansion in this budget. The House and Senate have put the budget process on a fast track, reducing un-utilized program funds and putting expansion dollars into many of the Governor's HHS and mental health priorities. In the weeks since the session started, House and Senate appear determined to complete budget adjustments well before the end of the short session on June 30. Joint Appropriations Committees have finished meeting, House Appropriations Sub-Committees finished their work on Thursday May 29, and the Full Appropriations Committee is set to vote the Budget out of Committee and onto the House floor next week.
Most of the expansion dollars in the House proposed budget are going to support institutional care and crisis services, similar to the Governor's proposal. A few changes to items and dollar amounts have been made: 8.2 million has been added to increase CAP-MR/DD slots, veterans MH/DD/SAS services will be expanded under existing state funds, and 200,000 has been included to support MHANC group home projects. In budget cuts, 4.2 million has been cut form the Division of MH/DD/SAS budget and in Medicaid, Community Support Services are expected to be reduced by nearly 400 million from the previous budget, with "savings" to the state estimated at around 65 million. MHANC will continue to monitor the budget process and will have a full report on budget expansion and cuts in a future update. You can view the budget when it is posted on the Legislative website at http://www.ncleg.net/
Bills to Watch
Aside from the budget, The Mental Health Association in North Carolina and its coalition partners are monitoring a number of bills introduced in the short session. Most bills are positive steps forward for improving services to individuals with mental illness or disabilities, but several bills make significant policy changes that could have a negative impact. MHANC will be sending out a short summary of the bills listed in a future update.
HOUSE and SENATE
HB 2301/SB 1610 Recommendations of MH/DD/SA Legislative Oversight Committee
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007&BillID=H2301
HB 2356/SB 1758 Study Participation of Exceptional Children.
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007&BillID=H2356
HB 2401/SB 1809 Improve Adult Home Screening and Care
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007&BillID=H2401
HB 2747/SB 2081 Firearms/Mental Incompetence
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007&BillID=HB+2747
HOUSE:
HB 2169 Funds for Children with Disabilities
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007&BillID=H2169
HB 2170 Positive Behavior Support in Schools/Funds
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007&BillID=H2170
HB 2180 Raise Funding Cap/Children with Disabilities
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007&BillID=H2180
HB 2202 Study MH Commitment Statutes/Transportation
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007&BillID=HB+2202
HB 2203 LRC Study Comm. Mental Health/Soc. Workers
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007&BillID=HB+2203
HB 2216 Children with Disabilities/Pilot Program
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007&BillID=H2216
HB 2229 Health Insurance Pool Pilot Program
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007&BillID=H2229
HB 2241 Health Information Management Study/Funds
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007&BillID=H2241
HB 2275 Funds/IOM Studies MH
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007&BillID=H2275
HB 2392 Funds to Increase the Special Assistance Rate
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007&BillID=H2392
HB 2546 MH/Community Support Changes
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007&BillID=H2546
HB 2598 Certificate of Need/DHHS Study (Howard)
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007%20%20&BillID=h2598
HB 2688 Health Care Policy Council (Inkso)
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007&BillID=H2688
HB 2697 Governor's Budget 2008
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007&BillID=HB+2697
SENATE:
SB 1966 LMEs Adopt Managed Care Policies
http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2007/Bills/Senate/HTML/S1966v0.html
SB 2008 Medicaid Appeal Change (Nesbitt)
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007%20%20&BillID=s2008
SB 2116 DHHS/Community Supports Change (Nesbitt)
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007%20%20&BillID=s2116
SB 2059 Tax Credit for Children with Special Needs
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007&BillID=S2059
SB 2080 UNC Campus Safety/Funds
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007&BillID=SB+2080
A big thank you to everyone who attend the Popcorn Rally! Your ongoing advocacy is having an impact at the General Assembly. Please join us for one of the Breakfasts in June. For information on these or other mental health policy issues, please contact Jennifer Mahan, Director of Policy and Advocacy Initiatives, at
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or 919-981-0740 x270. Please note that during the Legislative session it may take more than 24 hours for me to respond to calls or emails.
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