House and Senate leaders have begun their final budget negotiations. A point of friction is the department of heath and human services -- both the department's funding level, and the authority the senate wants to grant Commissioner John Stephen.
Health the human services represents about half of all state spending. Accordingly, it tends to dominate all budget negotiations…….This time around there are a host of issues -- not least of which are reduced provider payment rates and the senate's push to give Commissioner John Stephen the capacity to adjust those rates at will.
"We have not choice but to blow the whistle when the department has been such a poor and unreliable business partner."
Karen Gincott is with the North American Family Institute, an agency that provides residential services for troubled and abused children.
"The department has had the opportunity and ability to negotiate the rates for these critical services…….How much someone has to spend does not determine what things cost."
Gincott and about a dozen other service providers gathered at the statehouse to protest the possible changes in rate setting………Under current law, the state can place abused and neglected children in residential facilities……..Reimbursement rates to those facilities were set by agency rules…….But since 2002……The rules have been ignored and agencies have not seen a rate increase in five years. Several agencies are currently suing the state over the issue. Randy Walker is executive director of the Hannah house -- a Lebanon group home for young parents with children.
"Philosophically it seems like a starve the beast syndrome…..And I don't think that's recognized by the powers that be and that's what's really scary and disconcerting."
Walker says he's convinced if Commissioner Stephen were given the authority to control rates, cuts would ensue……But fears over what Commissioner Stephen might with increased power are not limited to the provider community.
"I think a lot of people are going to have a problem giving the unprecedented power to him that he can without anyone else rubber stamping it reduce provider payment rates further. There going from 93 to 71 percent in the budget footnote. I just don’t see how that works."
That's New Hampton House republican Fran Wendelboe. She sits on the house health and humans services committee, and is a conferee on the budget's trailer bill, the part of the budget that makes the changes to law to needed to enact the legislatures final spending decisions…….Senate Democrat Lou D'Allesandro…….is also a budget conferee……He says giving Commissioner Stephen control over rate setting is akin to the granting of what he termed an omnipotent power…..
"Rate setting is very important and if you leave that in the hands of one person that can become problematic…..We've got the third largest legislative body in the English speaking world and it seems to me we should not be abrogating power that obviously we should be retaining."
But such views are far from universal…….Hudson Republican Bob Clegg is Senate Majority leader. He spurred the push to grant Stephen more authority. In his view Stephen should have the power that other agency heads enjoy.
"No, I don't think we've given the commissioner any broader power than he's ever had. We've ties his hands through the rules committee."
But increased flexibility is exactly what Stephen wants…..His says his main concern is being required to provide services the department can’t afford.
"If you have a law that says one thing….and a budget that says another….The you put the department in the position of having to defend a lawsuit……So my point to the Senate and the house was put the amount of money in the budget that you believe is adequate and then suspend the law."
House and senate budget negotiations resume later this morning……Negotiators are slated to conclude their work by the end of next week…….The legislature has until the end of the month to enact a two year spending plan.
