This Washington
Children's Health Care Takes Center Stage in Budget Cuts
At Odessa Brown Children's Clinic in Seattle, children sign a "prescription" to save Apple Health for Kids.
From senior care advocates to women's health groups to children's advocates to education groups, I think ElderCare Alliance spokesman Gerald Reilly's all-caps "It is AWFUL" (from an email this morning) best sums up the reaction to the senate's budget proposal from social service groups.
Reilly's long list of complaints—including the 10 percent cut to personal care hours for people getting in-home care—joins the list from Planned Parenthood ($4.5 million cut from the state's family planning budget); advocates for poor people (cash assistance for people on the Disability Lifeline is eliminated and enrollment is capped at 12,000 down from 20,000 for the health benefits); teachers (K-12 staff is getting hit with a three percent pay cut); health care advocates (enrollment in the Basic Health Plan is capped at 34,000 down from 41,000); and children's advocates (families enrolled in Apple Health for Kids will have to pay a fee—$200 to $300—to reimburse the state for childbirth costs, even though Medicaid, which is funded jointly by the state and the federal government, already covers the cost.)
[pullquote]The budget is "ugly ... worse than I thought."—Jon Gould, Deputy Director, Children's Alliance[/pullquote]
That last example was brought to our attention by Jon Gould, Deputy Director at the Children's Alliance, who said the budget is "ugly .. worse than I thought."
Yesterday, we reported on a children's health care bill that was introduced in advance of the budget, but is part of the budget deal. It restricts subsidized children's health care for undocumented children by limiting the number of children who can access the program and increasing the premium. Now that the budget is out, we've got more details on it. The cap—on a program that currently serves about 26,000 kids—is 22,5000. Additionally, the budget for the program that serves undocumented children was cut by $6 million.
And the cuts to children's health care don't just affect undocumented kids. As we noted above, there's a new fee for births. This applies to any family in the Apple Health for Kids program (the state's children's health care program for 700,000 low-income kids and their families) making 150 percent of the federal poverty level or more ($30,000 for a family of four).
The budget also makes more families pay a premium per child for the care. Previously, only families at 200 percent of the federal poverty level ($44,000 for a family of four) and above had to pay a premium. The budget lowers the trigger to 150 percent of the federal poverty level.
From senior care advocates to women's health groups to children's advocates to education groups, I think ElderCare Alliance spokesman Gerald Reilly's all-caps "It is AWFUL" (from an email this morning) best sums up the reaction to the senate's budget proposal from social service groups.
Reilly's long list of complaints—including the 10 percent cut to personal care hours for people getting in-home care—joins the list from Planned Parenthood ($4.5 million cut from the state's family planning budget); advocates for poor people (cash assistance for people on the Disability Lifeline is eliminated and enrollment is capped at 12,000 down from 20,000 for the health benefits); teachers (K-12 staff is getting hit with a three percent pay cut); health care advocates (enrollment in the Basic Health Plan is capped at 34,000 down from 41,000); and children's advocates (families enrolled in Apple Health for Kids will have to pay a fee—$200 to $300—to reimburse the state for childbirth costs, even though Medicaid, which is funded jointly by the state and the federal government, already covers the cost.)
[pullquote]The budget is "ugly ... worse than I thought."—Jon Gould, Deputy Director, Children's Alliance[/pullquote]
That last example was brought to our attention by Jon Gould, Deputy Director at the Children's Alliance, who said the budget is "ugly .. worse than I thought."
Yesterday, we reported on a children's health care bill that was introduced in advance of the budget, but is part of the budget deal. It restricts subsidized children's health care for undocumented children by limiting the number of children who can access the program and increasing the premium. Now that the budget is out, we've got more details on it. The cap—on a program that currently serves about 26,000 kids—is 22,5000. Additionally, the budget for the program that serves undocumented children was cut by $6 million.
And the cuts to children's health care don't just affect undocumented kids. As we noted above, there's a new fee for births. This applies to any family in the Apple Health for Kids program (the state's children's health care program for 700,000 low-income kids and their families) making 150 percent of the federal poverty level or more ($30,000 for a family of four).
The budget also makes more families pay a premium per child for the care. Previously, only families at 200 percent of the federal poverty level ($44,000 for a family of four) and above had to pay a premium. The budget lowers the trigger to 150 percent of the federal poverty level.
