A bit more details have emerged on the budget.
Our great friend and colleague Neil Cronin of Mass Law Reform Institute, back in full advocacy mode after being out ill for awhile (great to have you back Neil!), sent this update on the Governor’s budget after meeting with Office of Medicaid staff on Friday:
“Generally speaking, the MassHealth accounts do not represent any new policy assumptions, including any increases in populations served which may result under the Health Care Reform plan now before the House/Senate Conference Committee.
“The increased appropriations in the MassHealth Family Assistance Plan, the HIV plan, and MassHealth Basic as well as the decreased appropriation in the CommonHealth program do not assume any policy changes, including no policy changes affecting the scope of eligibility or services provided under these programs.
“MassHealth Essential (4000-1405) assumes the current level of participation. It does not assume any change in the current enrollment cap, meaning that there will be no substantial reduction of the number of eligible applicants who are on the waiting list. The one unstated policy assumption that is assumed in the Governor’s budget for Essential is that the Office of Medicaid would impose sponsor deeming for elderly and disabled immigrants who are served in Essential, once the current legislatively mandated barrier on sponsor deeming expires at the end of the present fiscal year. This means that, once again, it will be necessary for the legislature to affirmatively adopt the bar on sponsor deeming in their budget.
(note: “sponsor deeming” is wonk-speak for the Romney administration’s attempt last year to not provide health coverage to low-income senior and disabled legal immigrants if their immigration sponsors had income over 200% of the poverty line. The MIRACLE campaign that we are part of successfully fought off this nasty proposal.)
“Finally little light was shone on the question of where the state government’s share of Free Care Pool dollars goes under the Governor’s budget. Is it part of the $200 million special trust account for health care reform? Is it held back as additional funding for the Safety Net Care Pool, once health reform legislation passes? Or is that money simply off the table? We can’t say.”
Neil also told us that the budget assumes funding the MassHealth dental third party administrator and continuing dental coverage for pregnant women and mothers with kids under 3. You can see the MLRI budget summary here.
