[DHS-News] SPECIAL: Vol. 4, No. 51, DHS BUDGET

[WHITEHOUSE Gary]

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dhs-news
August 25, 2003
Volume 4, Issue 51
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IN THIS ISSUE:

Director Jean Thorne's message to employees on the budget

Instructions on how to subscribe, unsubscribe or submit items for possible
inclusion in future editions of dhs-news are at the end of this message.
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DHS Director Jean I. Thorne today sent a message to all department employees.
It outlines the budget as passed by the Legislature over the weekend. 
Here is her message in its entirety.
 
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August 25, 2003


To: DHS Employees

From: Jean I. Thorne, Director

2003-2005 DHS budget adopted

The Legislature gave final approval to a 2003-2005 DHS budget over the weekend
and sent it to Governor Kulongoski for his approval.

It is still possible that some last-minute additions to our budget will be
made as the Legislature moves toward adjournment.

As it currently stands, however, the budget represents reductions from program
levels originally approved for 2001-2003, while restoring some of the most
critical service cuts that we have experienced in the past several months.

Here are some key points:

The totals. At this point, the DHS budget totals $9.36 billion in general,
federal and other funds. This compares to $9.17 billion spent during the
2001-2003 biennium. The new spending level requires some service cuts because
of increases in costs, particularly in health care, and in many of our
caseloads.

Field staff. The budget provides funding and positions primarily to support
increased workload in food stamps and child welfare. This should provide some
much-needed relief to the field, which has strained to provide these services
to clients.

Oregon Health Plan. The budget continues to provide a benefit package for the
OHP "Standard" population --- adult Oregonians whose incomes are below the
federal poverty level but who don't qualify for coverage under conventional
federal Medicaid law.

The budget for the Standard package will restore outpatient mental health and
chemical dependency treatment --- a critical benefit --- as well as medical
supplies and emergency dental care for adults. These services were all
eliminated this past spring.

The budget continues to provide the Standard population with coverage for
physician services, lab/x-ray, and prescription drugs.

Hospital coverage for the Standard group will be scaled back to only emergency
care, in both the inpatient and outpatient settings.

The budget also provides for coverage of children in households with incomes
up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level, an increase from the current
level of 185 percent of federal poverty.

The restoration of these services, and the increase in coverage for children,
requires federal approval. We hope to obtain this in time to make these
changes in January 2004.

Seniors and people with disabilities. The budget provides funds to restore
Medicaid services for people in service levels 12 and 13, about 1,200 clients
in all. These clients need help with such activities as mobility and eating.

Restoring the services will require federal approval, a process that's likely
to take at least 90 days.

Services cut earlier this year for more than 3,600 people in levels 14 through
17 were not restored.

(Clients receiving in-home and 24-hour services are classified in 17 levels
depending on their ability to perform daily activities, with those in the
lowest levels requiring the most assistance).

Medically Needy. Subject to federal approval, the budget provides coverage of
prescription drugs for seniors and people with disabilities with incomes up to
133 percent of the federal poverty level, but with cost-sharing by program
participants.

This will allow most of those formerly enrolled in our Medically Needy program
to regain some coverage.

General Assistance. Before it was discontinued in February, this program
provided cash assistance to low-income people with disabilities waiting for
determination of their Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security
Disability Insurance (SSDI) claims.

The new budget provides a more modest program, serving about 1,500 clients
instead of about 2,600, and focusing more narrowly on clients deemed likely to
meet SSI criteria.
 
Child welfare. The budget restores a 7.5 percent reduction in adoption
assistance payments and payments to foster parents.

Funding for System of Care, which provides a range of flexible services to
families, was restored to about three-quarters of its 2001-2003 level.

Self sufficiency. Co-payments for parents receiving Employment-Related Day
Care were reduced, and a $5 reduction in the monthly Temporary Assistance to
Needy Families grants was restored. (TANF grant amounts have not increased in
Oregon since 1991.)

Mental health and addiction services. Besides the restoration of services
covered under the Oregon Health Plan, the budget restores many cuts in mental
health and alcohol and drug treatment, both residential and outpatient. The
restorations include community crisis services for children and adults who are
not covered by Medicaid.

Psychiatric day treatment services for children were restored at about half of
the previous level.

Funding is provided for three 30-bed forensics wards at the Oregon State
Hospital --- one that was delayed from the 2001-2003 budget, and two that are
scheduled to open during 2003-2005.
 
The budget partially restores cuts in gambling addiction treatment.

Public health. Oregon's nationally recognized Tobacco Prevention and Education
Program, which was suspended earlier, is restored at a much-reduced level ---
about $5.7 million, down from about $20 million in the last biennium.

The budget removes all general-fund money from our toxicology and health
systems planning programs.

In toxicology, the effects include loss of our ability to manage the health
effects of lead contamination, and to answer thousands of calls from the
public about a variety of environmental contaminants.

Loss of the health systems planning money inhibits several activities,
including efforts to reduce disparities in health care among various
populations, and to increase public health matching dollars for counties.

The budget restores funding for school-based health centers.

In closing. All in all, given the financial difficulties we face, this is a
budget that continues to provide critical supports to the most needy
Oregonians.

We are working to post more complete information about the new budget on the
DHS Web site, including dates for the restoration of various services. I will
let you know when this is available.

I recognize the pressures and difficulties so many of you have faced over the
past several months. We've seen layoffs, changes in service levels, and
considerable uncertainty.

We have chosen careers in human services, and I realize that having to reduce
services to so many vulnerable Oregonians has been difficult.

This budget provides hope that the worst is over, and that we can begin to
rebuild some of our most critical services.

At the same time, we need to remember that some uncertainty remains. The
Legislature would need to adjust the budget if poor economic conditions cause
further decreases in tax revenue, or if tax increases that the Legislature
approved are placed on the ballot and rejected by voters.

I appreciate your continuing efforts to provide Oregonians with the best
possible service, and to make the best use of the limited resources available
to us. These efforts are critical, not only for those we serve, but for
Oregonians who expect state government to deliver services in an accountable
manner.

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visit our Web site at http://www.dhs.state.or.us

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