FY 12 State Budget – Key Provisions

 

On July 11, 2011 Governor Patrick signed into law the  Massachusetts $30.6 billion fiscal year 2012 budget.

Human Services

• Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children program grants (TAFDC) - a cut of $8.1 million, or 2.5 percent, from the FY 2011 current budget. The major cuts include a reduction in funding for the Employment Services Program and a cut in the children’s clothing allowance (see accompanying story). Budget provisions also increase the work hour requirements from 24 hours/week to 30 hours/week for participants whose "child of record" is age 6-9.  
• Emergency Assistance to the Elderly, Disabled and Children (EAEDC) - level funded.
• N ew restrictions on the use of cash assistance benefits , including TAFDC and EAEDC, to purchase alcohol, tobacco or lottery tickets. The budget includes language regarding the imposition of fines on store owners and their employees for accepting cash assistance held on EBT cards as payment for these products. Additional language will require program participants to reimburse DTA for any purchases with cash assistance for those items, and expands fraud penalties.
• New penalties are enacted for fraudulently obtaining welfare funds. Penalties include up to 5-year sentence and/or a $25,000 fine for fraudulently obtaining more than $100 in welfare funds and a 1-year sentence and/or a $1,000 fine for fraudulently obtaining less than $100 in welfare funds.
• Women’s, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition –level funding compared to FY 2011.
• Early intervention services - Funding of $31.1 million, $1.7 million higher than current FY 2011 spending. This funding level should be sufficient to avoid cuts to program eligibility and services for the developmentally delayed infants and toddlers who rely on the program; includes language recommending that transportation costs for Medicaid-eligible participants be borne by the MassHealth program.
• Emergency Assistance (EA- housing assistance for homeless families)- budgetincludes EA funding for new homelessness prevention services. The line item requires DHCD to administer homelessness prevention services to families, as long as such expenditures do not “impair the department’s ability to sign adequate shelter contracts”. Prevention services will include “landlord/tenant mediation, legal assistance to prevent eviction, and housing search stabilization services”.
• Elder Services - $133.5 million for elder home care services, including $97.8 million for home care purchased services and $35.7 million for case management and support for the local non-profit organizations that provide elder services. Funding in FY 2011 was $137.4 million. These community-based long-term care services are crucial for helping frail elders remain in their homes in the community and avoid nursing home placement. $45.8 million for the enhanced home care program, level with FY 2011 funding.
• New Office- Caseload and Economic Forecasting Office - the budget includes $150,000 in funding for this new state office within the new Commonwealth Performance, Accountability and Transparency Office. The office will look at caseload and budget predictions for such programs as EA, HomeBASE, TAFDC, EAEDC, and SSI. The office is required to provide reports to the Executive Office for Administration and Finance and the House and Senate Joint Committee on Ways and Means by December 1, 2011 and March 15, 2012. 

Health Care

• MassHealth - Funding for MassHealth is $10.54 billion. While this is a $96.4 million increase over FY 2011 current spending, it is close to $800 million less than what it would cost to maintain the MassHealth program in its current form, given expected enrollment and utilization growth, and reflects the administration and legislature’s belief that significant cost-savings can be achieved through better care management and other initiatives.
• Mental Health - The budget provides a total of $648.0 million for mental health services; an increase of $19.7 million over FY 2011, but likely lower than the amount required to maintain the current level of services.
• Prescription Advantage pharmacy program is funded at $21.6 million. Although this is $9.9 million less than current funding, it is likely that the FY 2012 funding level will be sufficient to cover the needs of the program. With the implementation of federal health reform (the Affordable Care Act), more of the gap in prescription drug coverage in the Medicare program known as the “doughnut hole” is now covered by Medicare, reducing the demand on the Prescription Advantage program.

-Adapted from” Governor Patrick Has Signed the FY'12 Budget, Preserving Language and Funding for Key Programs!” Kelly Turley, Mass Coalition for the Homeless July 11, 2011, and “Preliminary Analysis: The Governor’s FY 2012 Budget Vetoes” and “Budget Monitor: The Fiscal Year 2012 General Appropriations Act” both at www.massbudget.org.

 

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