On March 24 the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) presented its Priority 1 and Priority 2 recommendations regarding Health and Human Services exceptional items to the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Medicaid/Article II Work Group for adoption and referral to the full Senate Finance Committee. The Priority 1 items total $4.5 billion GR and are recommended for restoration to Article II of the base budget, and Priority 2 items total $2.6 billion GR and are recommended to be considered for restoration should additional funds become available during the budget writing process. The Subcommittee/Work Group adopted the LBB Recommendations in a 5 to 2 vote, and Chairwoman Jane Nelson announced they will be reflected in SB 23 (Nelson).
Instead of the proposed cuts in reimbursement rates, that were in the initially proposed bill, the subcommittee made the following recommendations: restore 7 percent of physician service provider rates, restore 5 percent to other providers including Durable Medical Equipment (DME) and laboratories, and 5 percent restored to hospitals.
The Senate Finance Subcommittee on Medicaid will meet next on March 30.