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This is the most current information regarding the proposed state budget and re-organization as it was approved by the Senate and House and submitted to the Governor. The Governor, who has ten days in which to respond, has indicated that the overall state budget is "substantially" out of balance, and that he may have to veto as much as $200 M from the overall state budget. He is not saying specifically that he would veto any items relating to services for elders.
1. The Executive Office of Elder Affairs will become the Office of Elder Affairs and will report to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. Its line items are listed under the Department of Elder Affairs. The Office of Elder Affairs would receive the lower administration appropriation amount of $1.6 M.
2. Both the Prescription Advantage program ($96.37 M) and the Councils on Aging ($5.9 M), received the higher Senate amounts, and would be basically funded at close to last year’s levels.
3. The Medicaid Senior Care Plans item 4000-0600, which is the money Medicaid pays for nursing home care, would be funded at $1.5 billion and would become under the Office of Elder Affairs. First step: Elder Affairs would be getting a complete inventory of budget, staff, and programs currently in place at Division of Medical Assistance (DMA), where Medicaid Senior Care Plans previously resided, to determine what part of DMA should be part of Elder Affairs. EOHHS, not Elder Affairs, would have would have the administrative money for this.
4. Enhanced Services (ECOP) would be level funded at $37.488 M. The Community Choices program would get "not less than $9.24 M" for year two for any needed community services, including case management administration. This would be a significant increase up from approximately $4.58 M in year one.
5. The Home Care program would be reduced by $1 M statewide from its FY ‘03 level, from $130 M to $129 M. Purchased Services (9110-1630) got the higher house level of $94.158 M and would basically be level funded. The reduction would occur in Care Management (9110-1633, our Case Management Administration), which received the lower Senate figure of $34.94, which would be a cut of just over $1 M from FY ’03. This should be partially offset by the inclusion of Case Management Administration in the Choices program.
6. Protective (9110-1636) would be reduced by $441,000, but it appears that much of this reduction would come out of Money Management, which would reduced as indicated in the EOEA contract for FY04. For ESBC, this would mean a reduction of $5,000 for FY ‘04, from approximately $15,000 to $10,000.
7. Supportive Housing takes a small cut to $1.94 M.
Congregate (9110-1660) remains alive at $1.3 M, a slight drop in funding.