Lawmakers remain focused on budget process
Legislative developments were limited this week as a result of the winter storm.
The House and Senate held joint appropriations meetings to discuss Gov. Nathan Deal’s budget recommendations. Lawmakers heard presentations by representatives from various state agencies and departments.
Gov. Deal’s AFY 2018 budget proposal includes…
– $23 million to cover the federal Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) program funds that were eliminated by the Affordable Care Act (i.e., funds that will be used to pay for indigent care at private hospitals)
– $20.6 million for “baseline expense growth” for the DSH
– $5.4 million for the Georgia Trauma Care Network Commission for safety-net hospitals
– $583,000 for the Georgia Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP)
– $2.4 million for “crisis services and operational capacity” to help care for patients who are younger than 21 who are autistic
Gov. Deal’s FY 2019 budget proposal includes…
Department of Community Health
– $32.2 million to reinstatement the “Health Insurance Provider Fee”
– $1.7 million for direct graduate medical education (GME) expansion programs
– $1.9 million for additional GME slots
Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities
– $3 million for a behavioral health crisis center for patients who have mental illnesses
– $5.9 for crisis services for patients who are younger than 21 who are autistic
– $20.6 million for behavioral health services – as recommended by the Commission on Children’s Mental Health – including $10.4 million for crisis services, $4.3 million for Apex school-based mental health services, $3 million for supported employment and education, $1.1 million for suicide prevention, $1 million for provider training and telehealth, and $791,000 for opioid prevention and intervention
Department of Public Health
– $627,000 for the PDMP, $355,000 to establish an office of cardiac care, and $100,000 to provide screening and therapy for patients who are younger than 21 who are autistic
The final FY 2018 budget is expected to be passed by the House by the end of January; it will then go the Senate.