State legislators face proposed Medicaid cuts for elderly, disabled

14th May 2018   ·   0 Comments

By Nayita Wilson
Contributing Writer

Uncertainties loom regarding the state’s proposed $1.4 billion cuts to Medicaid, which could potentially impact more than 36,000 elderly, disabled and blind recipients.

The proposed cuts are the result of the state’s $648 billion budget shortfall and the expiration of $1.4 billion in one-time tax revenue that will expire on July 1, leaders say. The proposed budget passed the Louisiana House of Representatives 55-47 (HB 1). The legislature is currently in regular session, which is set to end on or before June 4. However, legislators will have to approve a final budget and designated revenue during a special session.

Last week, the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) began mailing notices to those who could be impacted, informing them that benefits may end in July or upon federal approval of program termination. Notice recipients include: 7, 232 Provisional Medicaid recipients 65 and older or disabled who earn less than $750 a month; 1,216 nursing homes and eight community homes participating in the Medically Needy and Medically Needy Spend Down programs; and 28,024 individuals in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes, community homes and other community-based programs.

Louisiana Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne said notifications are in line with federal procedural rules to notify individuals who could be impacted. In the letter, LDH advises recipients that: 1) there are no present changes in Medicaid coverage; and 2) they may be eligible for other Medicaid programs or Social Security, if coverage ends.

Dardenne said: “We had hoped that this day would not come where we had to be in a position where we felt it our obligation to notify any recipient of Medicaid of the possibility – and at this point it is a possibility – that their Medicaid benefits would cease.”

According to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Code of Federal Regulations requires state agencies to notify beneficiaries of adverse actions such as termination of Medicaid at least 10 days prior to the action. This type of notice would include a statement of the action, the reason for the action, the specific regulations that support the action and an explanation of the individual’s right to request a hearing on the action.

A spokesperson for CMS said the agency is in contact with LDH; however, LDH has not submitted a request to terminate Medicaid programs.

“In order to terminate an optional program, the LDH would need to submit a request to CMS to amend the state plan. The LDH has not submitted a formal request to CMS at this time. Once CMS receives a state plan amendment request, CMS has up to 90 days to make a decision on the request,” according to Bob Moos, public affairs representative for CMS.

Rep. Cameron Henry, Chair of Appropriations and author of HB 1 did not respond to The Louisiana Weekly’s multiple requests for comment.

On Friday, the Senate Finance Committee amended two resolutions to work with the administration and house on resolving the budget and addressing priority programs such as Medicaid, TOPS, district attorneys’ offices and other matters. Those items are Senate Concurrent Resolution 101 and Senate Resolution 178 and are available for review at www.legis.la.gov.

Senate President John Alario said: “The members of the Senate and the members of the Senate Finance Committee are working in a responsible and reasoned manner to use available state dollars to provide necessary services to our citizens. We are moving forward to make sure that vital health care services for our elderly and disabled citizens are not impacted by our current revenue shortfall.”

Senator J.P. Morrell said, “I don’t support this budget. I don’t support any of these cuts, and I don’t support passing this budget without raising the money to pay for essential things.”

Morrell serves as chair of the Revenue and Fiscal Committee. He said the committee is constitutionally prohibited from raising revenue in the current session because it is not a fiscal session but can exercise this authority in a special session.

The Louisiana Budget Project (LBP) – a nonprofit that provides analysis and reports on the state’s fiscal issues – published online summaries of the potential cuts, indicating that a loss in state Medicaid funds will trigger cuts in federal funding.

LPB President Jan Moller said, “The budget shortfall that is causing the current Medicaid crisis is entirely self-inflicted (by the legislature) and preventable.”

According to Moller, the legislature should pass a revenue package that raises at least $650 million; he suggested renewing three-fourths of expiring taxes.

“Once next year’s budget is fixed, the Legislature should turn its attention to fixing the long-term structural problems in our tax code to ensure that we raise tax revenue in a more fair, adequate and sustainable way,” Moller said.

Citizens can monitor and view live broadcasts of legislative proceedings at www.legis.la.gov.

Medicaid recipients with questions or concerns can contact LDH’s call center at 888-342-6207 or medweb@la.gov, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Additional information is available at www.ldh.la.gov.

This article originally published in the May 14, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.