Two of most-controversial DD cuts removed from Medicaid cuts bill

The House Health & Welfare Committee has been going painstakingly through proposed changes in its Medicaid cuts bill, HB 221, and has agreed to back off on about $5 million worth of the $39 million in proposed cuts in state Medicaid funding; the original bill also would have given up $81 million in federal matching funds for Medicaid. A move by Rep. John Rusche, D-Lewiston, to restore a 5 hour weekly limit on psycho-social rehabilitation services, rather than trimming that to 4 hours, fell short. Rep. Fred Wood, R-Burley, said, “We do have a budget that we have to pay attention to.” Rusche said, “To say that the providers of care offered this, they were kind of asked, ‘Do you want to give up your hand or do you want to give up your arm?’ I don’t think that the four hours recognizes the clinical appropriateness.” That change, had it been approved, would have taken another $2.2 million in cuts out of the bill.

The committee decided to remove from the bill some of the most controversial cuts in services to the developmentally disabled. It just agreed unanimously to back away from a plan to boot developmentally disabled people who don’t qualify for a waiver program off of developmental therapy services, a move that would have saved the state $1.8 million, but which some said could actually cost the state more by shifting those higher-functioning patients into more intensive care. The panel also has agreed unanimously to delete a proposal to impose a “retirement age” of 45 on developmental therapy services, a proposal that drew heavy opposition at Tuesday’s lengthy public hearing. It had been touted as offering $2.6 million in state savings.