A Closer Look at the Health and Human Services 2010 Cuts - Thursday, March 04, 2010
UPDATED: For our summary of some budget cuts that affect children and families across issues--and what you can do about it--click here.
One of our Texans Care members, the Texas Network of Youth Services, sent out a fantastic policy alert, summarizing many details about the Health and Human Services Commission's 2010 plan for budget reductions that reports in the media may have missed. The budget reductions came following a call from the state's top leaders for agencies to scale back funding by 5% this year. As TNOYS reports,
Cuts proposed include a delay in the implementation of the Medicaid Buy-In for Children, which serves sick or disabled kids; a reduction in trauma funds; and the elimination of 200 beds and 420 full-time employees at four mental health hospitals: the Rusk, North Texas, San Antonio and Terrell state facilities. The reductions also include a 1 or 2 percent rate reduction for Medicaid providers working with acute care adults and in long-term care residential settings. [Ed. note: For what the provider rate reductions mean for kids, see this great column from the San Antonio Express-News' Veronica Flores-Paniagua, and for additional context, check out the Center for Public Policy Priorities' Anne Dunkelberg's testimony at the HHSC hearing.]
