Governor Perdue’s Health & Human Services Budget Highlights

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Overall General Fund Appropriations:
The revised estimate for current year HHS appropriations is $4.76 billion. Perdue’s budget for fiscal year 2009-10 proposed state General Fund appropriations of $5.3 billion, an 11 percent increase.

Summary
Like education, HHS overall fares better than most state agencies. The increased spending, however, is necessitated by increasing demands on services such as Medicaid during the economic recession. Federal stimulus dollars cover much of the state’s increasing obligations, but certain cuts were necessary to balance the HHS budget.

Budget Cuts

• Freeze Medicaid reimbursement rates to providers ($101 million)
• Close two 25 bed adult mental health units (Cherry and Broughton) ($6 million)
• Reduce prescription drug costs via better drug management utilization, increased use of generics and increase drug rebate collections ($20.8 million)
• One time reduction in Smart Start ($8.9 million)
• $23 million reduction for “truth in budgeting” salary adjustments

Budget Expansions

• $4 million to expand the SCHIP program
• $45 million increase in institutional and community based resources for the mentally ill
• $112 million for weatherization – funded by federal stimulus dollars

Other Notable

• Increase license fee for children’s day care facility of 50%. Estimated to raise revenue by $602,000
• Increase fee for state vital records from $15 to $24. Estimated to raise $1.2 million in revenue.