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| Maine's governor is proposing a supplemental state budget that invests in pandemic response funding and preserves safety net funds for the poor. FILE PHOTO |
Despite the challenges
of the nearly yearlong pandemic response and current fiscal climate, the
Department of Health and Human Services’ budget, a central component of the
Governor’s proposals, bolsters the Maine Center for Disease Control and
Prevention, continues critical reforms, maintains access to vital programs and
services such as MaineCare, and reduces costs through efficiencies and
accessing federal funding.
“Over the last year, COVID-19 has altered the lives and livelihoods of Maine people in innumerable ways,” said DHHS Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew. “These budget proposals are a measure of our dedication to containing the pandemic as well as our objectives beyond the pandemic -- advancing public health, improving the safety and wellbeing of our most vulnerable residents, and making sure Maine people have affordable, high-quality health care.”
The
funding priorities that Mills has identified for DHHS include an additional:
** $5 million for Maine CDC for COVID-19
testing, vaccines, and support services for people who need to stay
in isolation and quarantine (supplemental);
** $3 million for the Maine
CDC for additional capacity at the Health and Environmental Testing
Lab, the Health Inspection Program, the Maine Immunization
Program, and the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program
(biennial);
** $6 million to fund Section
29 services for adults with developmental disabilities in their homes and
communities by an additional 30 slots per month (biennial);
** $45 million
for MaineCare rate increases for nursing facilities,
residential facilities for children and older Mainers, Section 21 and 29
services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and
other providers per state and federal requirements (biennial);
** $7.5 million for community
mental health and substance use disorder services, including funds
for new crisis services in Cumberland County, helping individuals get
appropriate treatment in the community; new MaineCare coverage for mental
health intensive outpatient treatment; to promote the OPTIONS (Overdose
Prevention Through Intensive Outreach, Naloxone and Safety)
Initiative to dispatch mobile response teams to
communities with high rates of drug overdoses and connect
Mainers to local treatment; and a new Justice and Health team of intensive
case managers around the state who help prevent incarceration (biennial);
** $6.8 million for continued child welfare improvements focused on preventing abuse and neglect and modernizing the core information technology system (supplemental; biennial).
At
a time when affordable and comprehensive health coverage has never been more
important, Maine has reached a milestone in MaineCare enrollment. As of today,
70,689 Maine people now have coverage through the MaineCare expansion initiated
by Governor Mills on her first day in office, surpassing initial enrollment
estimates and representing an increase of more than 60 percent since February
2020.
While
economic realities mean additional savings and reductions were necessary,
DHHS’s proposal maximizes available funding sources including federal Medicaid
match and prescription drug rebates, zeroes in on efficiencies that preserve
services and programs, ensures compliance with federal requirements, and
standardizes MaineCare rates for some similar services, Lambrew said. <
