(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Lawmaker, health care rep, call for transparency on $71M in DPHHS budget – Daily Montanan [1] ['Keila Szpaller', 'More From Author', '- January'] Date: 2023-01-18 The Department of Public Health and Human Services should specify a plan for the $71 million it wants legislators to approve in the director’s office budget, a lawmaker and medical association director said Tuesday. Nursing homes are closing in Montana, and the Governor’s Office has proposed spending more money to help Medicaid providers, including that $71 million. But without details, including how much of those dollars are one-time-only as opposed to ongoing, Rep. Mary Caferro, D-Helena, said providers will face uncertainty. “The people that suffer are the people who have the services, and that’s why I’m so concerned,” Caferro said. At the joint subcommittee on Health and Human Services meeting, she also said it would be “unprecedented” for the legislature to agree to appropriate that much money without seeing details in advance. “It would give me a great deal of comfort to know what I’m voting on,” Caferro said. Brian Hannan, with the governor’s budget office, said the legislature can receive regular reports on spending, and it has in the past. Caferro said she appreciates reporting, but seeing line items only after they’ve been spent isn’t “usually the order” of events. “If this (request from the Governor’s Office) is approved, then the executive will be the appropriator, not the legislature, and that’s unprecedented,” Caferro said. In response, Health Department Director Charlie Brereton said the agency has presented budget plans, ones related to the recent study of provider rates. But he said he was committed to “repackaging” the information “in a way that makes sense” for the subcommittee. “We’ve been very clear about what we intend to do with this funding,” Brereton said. The Health Department is the largest state government office, and division heads have been presenting their budgets to the subcommittee this legislative session. Funding for strapped facilities that care for seniors is part of the discussion. DPHHS has acknowledged that Medicaid reimbursement rates are too low, and it commissioned a rate study, released in the fall. The Governor’s Office is proposing to fund a portion of the increase the study recommended for nursing homes. The Health Department has characterized the $25 million in one-time funds — part of the $71 million — as “a significant and historic infusion of funds.” However, the Montana Health Care Association has said the total increase still falls well below actual costs, and providers won’t receive money until at least July 1, 2023. In the meantime, 11 facilities have closed in Montana, others are struggling, and costs are growing. The presentation from the director’s office noted the $71 million for the biennium was made up of $25 million in general fund dollars and nearly $46 million in a federal match. At the meeting, Rose Hughes, executive director for the Montana Health Care Association, said she didn’t normally speak up about funding connected to the director’s office. “But since there were provider rate increases in the director’s office, that’s why I’m standing here,” said Hughes, representing nursing homes, assisted living facilities and in-home care agencies. Subcommittee Chair Rep. Bob Keenan, R-Bigfork, took public comment only at the end of the four-hour meeting. He dismissed DPHHS Director Brereton for public testimony, and the director said he had an obligation and left. Before he left, however, he said he would provide information. “We are striving for transparency,” Brereton said earlier in the meeting. In her testimony, Hughes said the budget clearly spelled out other sources of funds for providers, and in a specific way. However, she said the $70 million was “dumped” into a line item, and one “without a lot of parameters — and without your ability to specifically appropriate into the individual programs that are supposed to be receiving the money.” That’s a problem because providers need to know if they will be helped financially, she said. She encouraged the committee to appropriate the money specifically. “There are providers out there on the verge of closing,” Hughes said. “And they’re wanting to know what you’re going to do and what their rates are going to be.” [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2023/01/18/lawmaker-health-care-rep-call-for-transparency-on-71m-in-dphhs-budget/ Published and (C) by Daily Montanan Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/