5/14/12 – 5/20/12*

LAST WEEK:

In Ohio:

5/3/12 – Governor John Kasich announces plans to consolidate two state agencies (Ohio Department of Mental Health & Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services) citing similarity between mission and populations served. The administration emphasized the move as a consolidation and not the “folding” of one agency into another. Employee layoffs or cost containment is NOT cited as a goal of the move, but rather a prioritization of the populations served.

5/8/2012 – The Senate Education Committee adopted a variety of changes to Senate Bill 316 (Education/Workforce MBR). Employment First provisions remained intact and unchanged. The committee did accept an amendment to the bill that addresses the Jon Peterson Special Education Scholarship that was recently enacted as part of the budget bill last year. The change would require all schools to inform parents of students who undergo an Individualized Education Plan about the special education scholarship. Senate Bill 316 was approved by the full Senate on Wednesday, May 9, 2012 by a vote of 30-2. The bill now moves to the House for further consideration.

5/10/12 – The Ohio Office of Budget Management released their monthly report of state finances. Revenues for the month of April were up by 2.6% over estimates, however, total revenues for the fiscal year are below estimates by 0.6%. Spending for the month of April was 9.3% below estimates, and total spending for the fiscal year is 2.5% below estimates. A snapshot of the total fund balance for Ohio at the end of April shows the state approximately $460 million in the black.

In Washington:

5/9/12 – The Government Accountability Office released a report titled, “Opportunities for Financial Savings and Program Improvements in Medicare and Medicaid Remain.” Recommendations by the GAO for Medicaid include: Improving oversight of Medicaid payments by adopting transparency standards that include supplemental payments to providers in excess of the regular Medicaid rate; and, requiring that Medicaid demonstration programs within states be budget neutral to avoid increasing federal government liability.

5/9/12 – The GAO also released a report titled, “Review of the First Year of CMS’s Durable Medical Equipment Competitive Bidding Program’s Round 1 Rebid.” The report indicates that after a year, the federal government could show $20 million in cost savings with “minimal” impact to access to DME for beneficiaries.

From the Capital Insider (with Ohio specific notes on SSBG)

On May 10, by a vote of 218 to 199, the House passed a bill to stop most of the $109 billion in across-the-board spending cuts for FY 2013 scheduled to take effect in January under the Budget Control Act (BCA). It would do so by further reducing the cap on discretionary programs and by cutting mandatory programs. It would lower the cap for non defense discretionary programs by $19 billion, on top of the 6% reduction already required by the BCA in 2013. Mandatory programs would be cut by $310 billion over a decade through a “budget reconciliation” process, disproportionately targeted to programs for low income populations. These cuts include the following that would adversely affect people with disabilities:

•Medicaid reductions of $28 billion over 10 years. This would occur through changes in provider taxes, hospital payments, maintenance of effort (MOE) requirements, and payments to territories. People with disabilities would likely face decreased Medicaid eligibility and benefits as the states adjust to the reduced federal participation.

•Repeal of the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG). The $1.7 billion SSBG enables each state to provide social services that include special services to persons with disabilities. One of the SSBG’s five goals is preventing or reducing inappropriate institutional care by providing for home and community-based services.

Ohio Impact of SSBG cut:

Ohio would stand to lose about $65 million (Social Services Block Grant) should Title XX be repealed. Ohio divides these funds between JFS (72.5%), DODD (14.5%) and DMH (13%)

DODD would stand to lose $10.6 Million in 2013. Funding under the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) provides the following:

Grants to families living in the community

Early Intervention Grant ($300,000)

Medicaid Infrastructure Grant ($569,000)

JFS would stand to lose about $47.1 Million. SSBG funds programs at JFS to support the following:

Second Harvest Food Banks ($2,000,000)

Adoption, Day Care, Adult Day Care, Physical Protection, Homemaker Services, Jobs Training, Counseling & Legal Services

DMH would stand to lose about $8.4 Million. SSBG funds used by DMH are provided to Community Behavioral Health Boards.

Capital Insider, continued

•Cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (formerly known as food stamps). Monthly assistance for 44 million people would be cut by $35 billion and 2 million people will lose SNAP benefits entirely.

•Increase repayment charges for people who receive health insurance subsidies.  An estimated 350,000 people would likely forgo coverage, making it more difficult for the health reform law’s insurance exchanges to function effectively.  People with low incomes who received the subsidies would be affected if their incomes increase later in the year because they found a job, received a promotion, got married, or for another such reason.

•Elimination of the Prevention and Public Health Fund. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) established this fund to expand investments in prevention and public health, to improve health outcomes, and to enhance health care quality.

•Revisions to the medical liability system by capping non-economic damages to $250,000, limiting attorneys’ fees and other changes.

However, the reconciliation process is not likely to proceed beyond the House of Representatives. A budget resolution, with reconciliation instructions, is unlikely to pass the Senate. However, the existence of a concrete plan to replace the unpopular automatic cuts could give House leaders leverage in discussions that will likely occur later this year, about how to stop the automatic cuts.

THIS WEEK:

In Ohio:

The House Education Committee has tentatively scheduled three hearings this week on Senate Bill 316 (Education/Workforce MBR). The hearings are “pending referral”. The hearing schedule for the bill this week is as follows:

            Tuesday – SPONSOR Testimony – 5:00 p.m. – Room 313

            Wednesday – ALL Testimony – 5:00 p.m. – Room 313

            Thursday – ALL Testimony – 10:00 a.m. – Room 313

In Washington:

5/16/12 – The Senate HELP Committee will hold hearings to examine identifying opportunities for health care delivery system reform, focusing on lessons from the front line, 10 a.m., SD-430.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: The Ohio DD Council is accepting applications for new members for terms beginning January 2013. More details can be found by visiting our website at www.ddc.ohio.gov.