Department of Health and Senior Services Archives

House budget subcommittee shuns Medicaid expansion, finds mental health money

February 26, 2013 By Mike Lear

A House budget subcommittee has rejected including federal money for Medicaid expansion in the budgets for the Departments of Mental Health, Social Services and Health and Senior Services.

Representative Sue Allen (R-Town and Country)

Representative Judy Morgan (D-Kansas City) proposed a return to Governor Jay Nixon’s plan to use $1 billion in federal dollars for those departments, freeing up general revenue to use in other areas. Her amendments were defeated in 9-5 partisan votes.

Nixon says if Missouri accepts Medicaid expansion the federal government will pay for it for the first three years, then Missouri will begin picking up a portion of the cost that would eventually grow to ten percent. Democrats say Medicaid expansion will save the state money, extend healthcare to an additional 300,000 Missourians, create jobs and keep rural hospitals from closing.

Chairwoman Sue Allen (R-Town and Country) says Missouri can not afford to accept that plan.

“There will be a time the feds will back off. Missouri is in as good a shape as we are financially because of hard decisions that were made in 2005 to reign in cost, and we have a natural growth of Medicaid which we struggle with every year anyway within the current eligibility.”

The state legislature approved and then-Governor Matt Blunt signed a cut back in Medicaid in 2005. At that time, 100,000 people lost eligibility.

Allen says Medicaid reform would be the more responsible route.

“I would say, first of all, we improve and we correct where you could have greater benefits. You get that taken care of and you move forward, and you do it one step at a time but you don’t jump in a swimming pool without any water in it.”

The plan approved by the committee does shift about $25 million to the Department of Mental Health. Allen says that money came from places in the Fiscal Year 2013 budget where Governor Nixon had withheld money, or where money that was appropriated was not spent.

She says in finding that $25 million, “I don’t know if any services that were cut.”

Allen says she hopes more money can be found for mental health when her committee’s proposal reaches the full budget committee.

Budget working group to take a closer look at health, social services budgets

February 23, 2012 By Mike Lear

Seven members of the House Budget Committee are going to take a closer look at areas where the budgets for the Departments of Mental Health, Health and Senior Services and Social Services might be reduced.

Representative Tom Flanigan presents part of his Appropriations Committee's budget to the full Budget Committee.

The Appropriations Committee covering those agencies recommended that New Decision Items within those budgets receive 75% funding. Chairman Tom Flanigan (R-Carthage) explained to the Budget Committee Wednesday that his intent was to force a supplemental budget in January when better information is available related to those items, and what funding is still necessary at that time can be provided. Flanigan noted that his committee does not have authority to make cuts.

The Budget Committee has now created a working group that will look at new decision items in the budget bills for those agencies for any places where similar withholds could be made. Representative Jeff Grisamore (R-Lee’s Summit) said the process would help conserve as much money as possible for the “most vulnerable people.”

See what’s in those budget bills, HB 2010 and HB 2011.

The members of the working group are Republicans Rick Stream of Kirkwood, Sue Allen of Town and Country, Grisamore and Flanigan and Democrats Chris Kelly of Columbia, Gail McCann Beatty of Kansas City and Jeanne Kirkton of Webster Groves.

Kelly says Flanigan’s withholding method is an innovative, interesting idea and he’s anxious to look into it more. “Is it reasonable to hold some money back and put it in the supplemental bill to make sure the money’s being spent correctly and targeted correctly?”

Kirkton says she is concerned for the agencies that might have to deal with those 25% withholds. “If I were a department manager I would be very nervous about it. You hope the supplemental money will be there but there’s always the ‘what if’s’. What if we had another catastrophe, what if that money’s not there, what if revenues don’t come in? We always have to worry.”

Kirkton says supplemental budget bills are expected to come out early next week, so the working group will have to work fast.