[I]n the ups and downs of the proposed 2016 budget for human services, there are a few big winners, and many small losers.
Under the proposal, the agency’s overall budget is $3.8 billion, including some $1.4 billion from federal funds.
More than $651 million of the AHS budget will be paid for out of the state’s general fund — that represents a $24.5 million increase from last year.
Lawmakers are now weighing the proposed budget against the backdrop of a widening deficit. Originally projected to be $94 million, the downgrade of state tax revenues in January widened the budget gap by another $18.6 million. Depending on the success of proposals such as the governor’s payroll tax, the state could be staring down a deficit as high as $130 million.
The agency, which oversees six departments, including the Department of Health, the Department for Children and Families and the Department of Corrections, accounts for about half of the state’s total budget.
WINNERS
Across the board, the agency is asking lawmakers in Montpelier for a 3.9 percent increase from the general fund. Including about $12.7 million to replace one-time expenditures, the budget seeks an overall increase in general fund spending of 3.9 percent.
The cost for non-long-term care Medicaid expenditures in the 2016 budget is more than $1.3 billion, a 6 percent increase over the amount in the adjusted 2015 budget.
Under the governor’s cost-shift proposal, AHS is seeking a six-month, 2.5 percent rate increase to Medicaid providers, which would go to physicians and human service providers such as community mental health agencies and parent and child centers.
The previous rate increase took effect in November 2014.
The Department of Health is seeing a big increase for the funding of opioid treatment centers. The governor asked for a $4.5 million increase to opioid treatment, which will in part go toward completing the system of treatment hubs across the state.
MAJOR CUTS
One of the largest cuts is under the DCF — an elimination of $6 million in state funding for LIHEAP. The winter fuel assistance program, which falls within the DCF, received about $26 million.
According to Karen Lafayette, of Vermont Low Income Advocacy Council, the average benefit a LIHEAP recipient got this year was about $783. The cut from the program would cause that to fall to an estimated $545 for the year.
“It’s a dramatic change in policy,” Lafayette said. “The need is out there.”
Last month, a report from Vermont Law School found that low income Vermonters spend a growing portion of their income on heating costs.
Meanwhile, the AHS is finding ways to tighten its belt across the departments with smaller cuts, like a $200,000 reduction from the AHS Central Office to field directors. That money would fund service coordinators who help make sure people can access all the programs they are eligible for, or direct service, which helps fill in the gaps when somebody does not quite meet eligibility requirements for certain programs.
“That happens to be one of the cuts we’re really unhappy about, it’s fair to say,” Hal Cohen, the Secretary of Human Services, said last week.
The Central Office is also saving $223,744 by eliminating the Tobacco Review Board. Under the proposal the board will become an advisory and voluntary board, which, Cohen said, means that the agency will not have to cut any of the programs that are associated with the funds.
“It’s not the best scenario, but it’s better than cutting the programs,” Cohen said.
The Health Department cut a $700,000 loan repayment program that gives grants to between 25 and 40 health care professionals, aiming to entice nurses and physicians to practice in Vermont.
“None of these are easy,” Harry Chen, the commissioner of the department, said Wednesday. “I do think it’s important to note that even though there are problems in certain parts of Vermont, overall we have enough physicians, even though distribution is not ideal.”
In a tight budget year, Chen said that the department needed to find a balance. A new federally funded program, totaling about $500,000, will fill some of the gap left by the loan repayment cut.
“We had to look at what are things closest to our core mission,” Chen said.
Many of the cuts under the budget are for small amounts, between five and six figures. But, as Eric Avildsen of Vermont Legal Aid relayed, the small cuts have big impacts.
Under the governor’s proposed budget, Legal Aid will get at $47,000 cut from the AHS Central Office. That amount, Avildsen said, “is a little less than half a lawyer,” including the total costs of an attorney position.
That cut will likely be reflected in a reduction of the civil cases Vermont Legal Aid can take on, like evictions, foreclosures, and some domestic violence cases.
“If this cut goes through, it will return Legal Aid funding to the level in 2008 in actual dollars,” Avildsen said.
