The report also found that among service providers, there was confusion about just what the department intended in the new plan, and about which changes were due to the new plan and which were brought about by Optum’s choices.

Overall, spending is down under the new plan, evaluators found, though more people are actually receiving services. 

On Monday, Department Director Dick Armstrong presented a budget overview of the Department of Health and Welfare.

He focused on five main topics...The Primary Care Access Program, employee compensation, a third community crisis center, supported living services and benefit use in the state.

Director Armstrong reported that the overall budget for the Department includes a 6.2% increase from last year. However if the Governor's PCAP program was taken out of the budget it would only be a 2% increase. Medicaid continues to be 80% of the overall budget.

To see the budget proposal click here.

On Tuesday, Lisa Hettinger, Administrator for the Division of Medicaid presented the medicaid budget to JFAC.

The Governor is asking for a 3%  increase in state general funds. Adding in federal dollars that comes out to a 3.7 percent increase in total funds.

Hettinger reported that “ninety percent of the people served in Medicaid are children, disabled and the elderly. Two percent are pregnant women, and 8% are healthy adults with children."

The largest population that Medicaid covers is children totaling 74 percent “Seventy percent of the dollars that are spent in the Medicaid program are for 30 percent of the individuals," Hettinger said. "So we have some very high payments for a small few.”

She also reported that 96.7 percent of Idaho’s Medicaid budget goes to payments for health care services from providers and 3.3 percent goes for administration.

For a copy of the Medicaid budget presentation click here.

Ross Edmunds, Division of Behavioral Health Administrator presented the Mental Health Services budget to JFAC on Wednesday. The Governor is proposing a $96.9 million budget for the division. This is about 3.5% of the overall Health and Welfare budget.

The majority of the funds $41.9 million will go toward mental health services with $38.1 million to psychiatric hospitalization and $16.9 million to substance abuse programs.

Mr. Edmunds reported that the two psychiatric hospitals in the state have seen an increase in the dangerousness of their patients. Because of this, the Governor's budget proposal includes funds for additional staff and security measures at both facilities.

Overall, the proposed budget for psychiatric hospitalization next year reflects a 9.7 percent increase in state general funds, and 9.9 percent in total funds. That comes to $38 million total, including $25.7 million for State Hospital South, $9.2 million for State Hospital North, and $3.1 million for community hospitalization, which operates through contracts around the state.

To see the full budget proposal click here.

On Thursday, JFAC heard from  Gary Moore, administrator of the Division of Family and Community Services at the Department of Health & Welfare.

Betsy Russell in her Eye on Boise coverage reports that "Moore said 3,036 children were served by the state’s Children’s DD Services in the past year; 3,712 received services from the Infant-Toddler Program. The Southwest Idaho Treatment Center, formerly the Idaho State School and Hospital, which began accepting clients in 1918, had nearly 1,000 residents in 1957, but now has just 25, as the state has moved away from institutionalization for people with developmental disabilities.

The governor’s recommendation for funding DD services next year calls for a 4.8 percent increase in general funds, 3.2 percent in total funds; the increase is nearly all for increased personnel costs, including the once-every-11-years 27th payroll period that will occur next year. Two-thirds of the DD services budget goes to community-based services; one-third to SWITC. Half of the funding for the services comes from the federal government."

To read all of Betsy's story click here.

Senator Dan Schmidt introduced two personal bills on Friday. A personal bill allows legislators to introduce legislation without committee votes in the early weeks of each year’s legislative session. Friday was the last day personal bills could be introduced.

The first bill S1204 directs the Department of Health and Welfare to change their definition of Medicaid eligibility to include all individuals whose income is below 138% of the Federal Poverty level. The purpose of this legislation is to provide access to medical care for approximately 78,000 Idahoans, most of whom are employed in full time work but earn too little to obtain health insurance on Your Health Idaho, the state based health insurance exchange. This is expected to have a positive impact on the health and productivity of our citizens by increasing access to health care. It will unburden our economy by reducing bankruptcies due to uncovered medical expenses. It will reduce recidivism since many released prisoners currently have no access to medical care. Finally, it will reduce government by eliminating the need for county indigent programs and the State Catastrophic Health Cost Payment program.. 

The second bill S1205 would make people earning less than 100% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) eligible for Managed Medicaid enrollment. Idahoans earning between 100% - 138% of FPL would be enrolled in the state exchange and their premium supported by state and federal funds. There would be many broad social and economic impacts to providing health insurance and removing the threat of medical bankruptcies from the working poor in Idaho.

To read more on these bills read Betsy Russell's story here.

To follow these bills start your legislative tracking here.

The Sign Language Interpreters Licensure Task Force has decided not to introduce improved legislation this year requiring all sign language interpreters in the state of Idaho to be licensed..

As you might remember, the Idaho Sign Language Interpreters Licensure bill passed both the Idaho Senate and the House of Representatives during the 2015 session. It was vetoed by Governor Otter due to concerns that there were not enough interpreters in Idaho, and that licensure would create an undue burden by requiring more interpreting to take place than is required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The Task Force went back to work to improve the legislation for this year's session, but recently found out that the costs of administering the interpreter licensure board would translate into an annual $600 license fee for each interpreter. Based on that estimate, and in order to have a more reasonable annual license fee, it was suggested that the interpreter licensure board merge with an existing board from another licensed profession. 

The Task Force has concerns that the $600 estimate is high and would be burdensome for interpreters. Thus they are heading back to the drawing board to continue to improve legislation and they plan on bringing legislation back in 2017.

To read the full status report from the Idaho Sign Language Interpreters Licensure Task Force click here.

If there is legislation that you want to follow, there is a a nice tool offered by Legislative Services that help you know where in the process a bill is. Click here and log in to establish your own personal bill tracker for 2016.

Week 1 January 11-15, 2016