Budgets for final divisions of H&W pass unanimously; overall H&W increase for next year is just 2.6%

After JFAC Co-Chair Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, announced that there was a “glitch” with the budget for the office of the State Board of Education, the joint committee went on to the remaining Health & Welfare budgets this morning, for indirect support services, independent councils, licensing and certification and healthcare policy initiatives. All have been passing unanimously; they were crafted by a work group including Sens. Steve Bair, Mary Souza and Abby Lee; and Reps. Melissa Wintrow, Phylis King and Luke Malek. It’ll come back to the SBOE budget.

Bair, R-Blackfoot, said the Health & Welfare budgets overall, including Medicaid, are showing an increase of just 2.6 percent for next year. “I’d say that’s a very good number,” he said.

Lee, R-Fruitland, complimented legislative budget analyst Jared Tatro for “keeping us on track” throughout the process of setting the numerous different divisions of the Health & Welfare budget. “This is a very complex budget,” she said.

In the Licensing and Certification Division, Bair noted that there were big problems highlighted last year with a backlog of inspections of assisted living facilities. “I’m happy to report that they’ve done a great job of getting their inspections don’t so that some new facilities could open,” Bair said, as well as catching up on a backlog of inspections of existing facilities. “They’re doing a better job,” he said.