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-- Programs and Services -- Contact Information Budget update
As you may know, the Governor’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2006 was released at the end of January. This is the first step in a budgetary process that will hopefully be concluded on or before July 1, 2005, which is the start of fiscal year 2006. The Governor’s proposed budget is for $23.22 billion, which is a 2.4% increase from this year’s budget. The budget now goes to the state legislature, where the House will review it and make recommendations, which will then be passed to the Senate. The Senate will then develop its own recommendations. At this point, the House and Senate will meet jointly through committee to negotiate the differences between their versions of the budget. Once the House and Senate reach agreement, the budget, which by this time may be very different from what the Governor initially proposed, will go back to the Governor for his signature. The Governor can veto any line item or section of the budget as he chooses. The House and Senate can override any of these vetoes if two-thirds of the members of each chamber vote to do so.
One piece of good news for elders in the Governor’s budget is that it maintains the Prescription Advantage Plan (although at a reduced level) so that it can serve as a wrap-around plan “to bridge the transition to the new Medicare (Part D) prescription drug benefit that starts in January 2006, and once underway, to fill in financial gaps so that benefits for seniors enrolled in the program will be preserved.” The Prescription Advantage Plan is the state-funded insurance plan that provides 80,000 Massachusetts elders and disabled persons with the coverage that allows them to afford to purchase their prescription medications. The Governor’s budget proposes that Prescription Advantage “provide assistance for prescription drug costs to enrollees who qualify for Medicare Part D as well as assistance for premiums, deductibles, payments, and co-payments required by the Part D plan or Medicare Advantage plans.” The budget language explains that the fiscal year 2006 funding reduction from $110 million to $90 million is based on anticipated savings from the implementation of Medicare Part D. Another item of good news is that statewide Protective Services Programs, which last year investigated almost 10,000 reports of elder abuse and neglect, would receive a 7.4% funding increase, or an additional $850,734.
Unfortunately, there are other items in the Governor’s budget that are not good news for elders. Elder Lunch, which is the statewide nutrition budget, has a proposed increase of just $13,000 (from $3.99 million to $4.012 million). At this level, we could expect a total increase of less than $500 in Berkshire County for Elder Services’ Meals on Wheels/Nutrition program, which prepared, delivered, and served more than 250,000 meals this past year - an increase of 5,000 meals from the previous year. The $500 funding increase would cover the cost of less than a hundred meals. The Governor’s budget calls for core Home Care services and Council on Aging funding to remain at basically the same level - there would be a combined increase of slightly more than 1% - even as the need for these services continues to grow. These community and home care services are vital to many elders, and together with Meals on Wheels, provide many of the supports which allow Berkshire elders to continue to live in their own homes with dignity and independence. As the elder population continues to grow - in Berkshire County the number of elders age 75 or older grew by 16.5% from 1990 to 2000 - these home and community-based services should be available to any elder who needs them and is eligible to receive them. As we go to press, the Governor’s budget is still being reviewed by the House. Throughout the budgetary process, we will continue to advocate for appropriate levels of funding so that elders will be able to receive the services they need. If you would like to read more, visit Elder Services website at www.esbci.org.