Local state legislators say that a 4% cut to certain Medicaid recipients in the state is politically motivated.
And locally, attendees of Elevate’s day training program will see that cut in the waivers they receive—which could cause the organization to lose somewhere between $24,000 and $30,000, says its executive director.
Julie Wischer, Elevate’s executive director, said that all the attendees of the day training program receive Medicaid waivers to attend.
Wischer said she was informed via a letter from the Department of Medicaid Services that she received on June 18. Since then, she’s not received much communication on how to approach this, she said.
And Wischer said she’s not sure if the cuts are temporary or permanent.
The cut goes into effect on Aug. 1 and so that will give Elevate some time to figure out how to handle the cuts, she said. She also said the new fiscal year started July 1, which may provide for more clarity on why the cuts were imposed and how to move forward.
Meanwhile, state Sen. Robby Mills said the Republican supermajority in the past General Assembly session made a 4% cut across the board of the executive branch budget. He said Republican leaders throughout the session asked the governor’s team to provide their version of an executive branch baseline budget but never received that.
Though a 4% reduction in the budget was made across the board, Mills said that legislators passed a budget with Medicaid fully funded.
He said there is some flexibility with how the executive branch can use the money in the budget. But Mills believes the governor has made these cuts as a political move.
“I think he’s just using the cuts as a political tool,” he said. “We (Republicans) think there’s plenty of money in the budget to take care of Medicaid.”
In the letter Wischer received, Lisa Lee, the commissioner of the Department of Medicaid Services wrote, “The Governor and his administration repeatedly warned the General Assembly about the painful impacts that would be felt by the unnecessary and harmful budget cuts, yet no action was taken by the legislature.”
Local state Rep. J.T. Payne also questioned the veracity of the recent cut. He said that the governor’s requested budget that was released in December had less funding for Medicaid than the budget that passed.
“We funded more for Medicaid that the governor requested,” Payne said.
He said legislators do not know why the cut was announced, adding it’s difficult to tell where any shortfall may have occurred. He also said there’s not been more information released to explain the situation.
“I do wish there would be more communication given why this is being reduced,” Payne said.
Both legislators mentioned a Pre-K For All initiative that the governor recently unveiled in two counties as an example of the governor moving money around. The legislature did not fund Pre-K For All in the spring budget session.
Wischer said many of the groups who will receive cuts in waivers include people with disabilities or behavioral health issues. She also said that if the cuts were being used for a political purpose, “That’s not what we’re here for.”
She asked why the cuts weren’t made to other services, such as orthopedic surgery or dental surgery.
“Why pick something that is already underfunded?” Wischer said.
Wischer said the cut will not have any effect on Elevate Estates, its supportive housing units currently under construction.
She, however, believes that something will break and the funding will work out. She said Elevate made it through COVID and it was shut down for three months then.
“We’ll have to get creative with how we get through it,” she said.
