State Budet Update
0 Comments
The Governor released his budget request on November 1st. This is the beginning of a long process to set the budget for Fiscal Year 2013-14. Beginning this week, the Joint Budget Committee (JBC) began hearing briefings from the various state departments. Some health related highlights from Governor Hickenlooper’s budget request are listed below.
- Purchase a Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS or claims payment).
- Add a dental benefit for adults, including pregnant women, covered by Medicaid. This is to be capped at $1,000 per patient.
- Change the current Medicaid dental program for kids to an Administrative Services Organization, similar to that of CHP+.
- Expand the current Substance Use Disorder Medicaid benefit and include substance use disorder treatment under the Behavioral Health Organization (BHO) contract.
- Increase provider rate by 1.5%. The increase would not apply to RHCs, FQHCs, nursing homes or pharmaceutical reimbursements.
- Create a behavioral health crisis system (mental health triage).
- Increase funds for Local Public Health Agencies to support legislatively required core public health services in some communities.
- Increase the average cost per K-12 student from $6,474 to $6,659.
We’re still waiting to hear the Governor’s plans for the Medicaid expansion (states can expand their eligibility for Medicaid up to 133% FPL as part of the Affordable Care Act).The federal guidance is expected to be released in the next week, so we can expect to hear something publicly soon after that.
