|
|
|
Social Services Consortium,
The HHS Appropriation Subcommittee has been meeting every day since last Thursday. We have gone over the budget, Special Provisions, and today the Block Grants. In between the meetings have been many closed door meetings where House and Senate members came to agreement on different items that were then revealed in the open meetings.
A large number of the budget items have taken the House version of the budget which contains fewer cuts. Those items that they could not come to agreement on will be sent to the "big chairs" (co-chairs of the conferees). The biggest budget flag, Medicaid cut to the Blind, Elderly and Disabled, still has not been decided. Many people are very concerned about the Senate fighting to keep the cut because they are repeatedly quoted as saying that Medicaid is sucking up all the money and it has to be stopped. Today during the Senate session, a group of four people in the gallery unfurled a banner that said "Health Care for All; No Medicaid Cuts" and began chanting "HAVE MERCY ON THE PEOPLE, NO MEDICAID CUTS!." They were quickly escorted from the gallery by the Sergeant-At-Arms but not before upsetting Senator Dannelly ( sitting in for Lt. Gov Beverly Purdue) who was flabbergasted by the display.
Currently, the legislative members have been focused on trying to reach a Continuing Budget Resolution (to keep government from shutting down) since they have not yet reached a budget agreement. They are hung up on some differences of opinions concerning which taxes to keep, primarily whether or not to maintain the tax on the wealthiest North Carolinians . They must reach an agreement on the Continuing Resolution by tomorrow at midnight to keep government agencies operating. The resolution will provide them some breathing room to reach an agreement on the budget by the end of July.
Couple of updates below on budget and special provision items - remember, while most likely the "big chairs" will honor the decision of the HHS conferee co-chairs, they can still make changes if they deem necessary:
NC FAST - Funding for 05-06 $4.9M – NO FUNDING FOR 06-07 – This item continues to plague us with trouble. The Senate members seem in support of the second year funding (which they provided in their budget) but the House continues to resist providing funding for the second year. The GA staff has advised them that HHS needs to prove they can be good stewards in effectively moving the program according to schedule prior to the allocation of second year funding. I strongly encourage you to contact House conferee members and the Speaker’s office to let them know we MUST have 2 nd year funding to effectively implement the program. At the end of this e-mail is a sample letter and the Representatives we encourage you to contact. PLEASE, we need every Director to send an e-mail to these representatives to ensure that NC FAST survives!
Sec 10.21A Verification of State Residency for Medical Assistance - has been flagged. Some of the advocates for homeless and immigrants are opposed to this bill as they say it clearly discriminates against them. DHHS has held firm in their support of this special provision.
Sec 10.11(a )( 5) Medicaid Prescription Limits - the HHS co-chairs agreed to "limitations on quantity shall not be established for fewer than four brand medications per recipient per month or for fewer than eight total medications per recipient per month including refills and overrides."
Sec 10.40A Regulatory Changes to Improve Quality and Safety in Home Care Services, MH Facilities, ACH - Additional language was added in the special provision the included all of the language from Senate Bill 1074. The section that referred to the study of Quality Improvement Consultation Program that the Association had worked to develop.
Sec 10.41 Plan for Star-Rating System for Adult Care Homes -This has been included in the special provisions with a change in the date for the completion of the plan to January 2007.
Sec 6.24 Collaboration Among Dept of Admin, HHS, JJDP, DPI on School-Based Child and Family Team Initiative -“ This came from a bill sponsored by Rep. Insko in an attempt to create seamless services to children. Insko is also a co-chair of the HHS conferee committee. She told the committee that she was working with the Governor's office to combine this special provision with the Governor's provision. Sec . 10.25A.(a) Child and Family Teams/Integrated Services Programs for Children and Families into a new special provision. It has been flagged to continue work on.
Sec 10.59F (a) Governor's Vision Care Program Established - This House initiative would set up a Commission on Early Childhood Vision Care and would require every child entering kindergarten in the public schools to obtain a comprehensive eye examination not more than 6 months prior to school entry.  It clearly states that NO child could attend kindergarten until the exam is completed. The Senate is not willing to agree to this provision and it has been flagged for the “big chairs.
Below is a sample letter for your convenience concerning NC FAST. PLEASE send to all the Representatives listed below by clicking on their e-mail address. It is VERY important!
Dear Representative,
I am writing to strongly urge your support to fully fund the NC FAST program for FY 05-06 and 06-07.  NC FAST will vastly benefit a multitude of programs such as Medicaid, Food Stamps, Child Welfare, etc. provided by County Department of Social Services agencies for our most vulnerable citizens. NC FAST will effectively streamline work to reduce countless hours spent on the current “pen and paper†documentation and reduce the error in data collection as well as enhance the capability to recognize fraud. It will also allow statewide tracking of clients from county to county to prevent “losing†at-risk children in the system.
We have come a long way in the development of the NC FAST program and the DSS Directors have been actively engaged in working with DHHS on this project. In an effort to ensure the effectiveness of the program at the local level, County DSS Directors have made a commitment to provide the state with some of their best staff to work exclusively on the project over the next year.
We are at a critical juncture with this project and funding for both years is essential for the success of this important program. If you would like any additional information please feel free to contact me and thank you for your commitment to North Carolina ’s citizens.
Rep. Jim Crawford  ( Co-chair)
Room 1301, Legislative Building
Raleigh, NC 27601-1096
O: (919) 733-5824
O: (252) 492-0185 (Granville, Durham , & Vance) Â
E-mail: Jimcr@ncleg.net
Rep. Beverly Earle (Co-chair)
Room 634, Legislative Office Building
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925
O: (919) 715-2530
O: (704) 333-7180 (Wilson & Edgecombe)
E-mail: Beverlye@ncleg.net
Rep. Edd Nye (Co-chair)
Room 639, Legislative Office Building
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925
O: (919) 733-5477
O: (910) 862-3679 (Bladen, Sampson)
E-mail: Eddn@ncleg.net
Rep. Bill Owens (Co-chair)
Room 635, Legislative Office Building
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925
O: (919) 733-0010
O: (252) 335-0167 (Pasquotank, Camden , Currituck, & Gates)
E-mail: Billo@ncleg.net
Speaker Jim Black
Room 2304, Legislative Building
Raleigh, NC 27601-1096
O: (919) 733-3451
O: (704) 847-9938 ( Mecklenburg ) Â
E-mail: Jimb@ncleg.net
Rep. Richard Morgan
Room 301, Legislative Office Building
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925
O: (919) 715-3010
O: (910) 295-4575 ( Moore )
E-mail: Richardm@ncleg.net
