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June 09, 2006

The Governor Could Fund Medicaid Now!

The Governor’s message in the Tribune regarding Medicaid dental benefits is confusing. It seems that he, and obviously the Media, do not understand how the budgeting process works. The Legislature doesn’t need to approve the Medicaid Dental funding. The Health Department can make that decision themselves.

Here’s how the process works. When the budgets are created during the general session of the Legislature, the different departments’ budgets are broken down into line items. In the Health Department budget, Medicaid, as a whole, is one line item. So, the Health Department has the ability to use the money appropriated for Medicaid in whatever priority they choose. It almost seems like there are individuals in and out of government who wanted the Legislature to take further control of the Medicaid budget and demand detailed priorities. It’s hard to win when we’re also being told to give the state departments more autonomy. In this case, the Legislature chose to leave the Health Department in control.

Now, lest anyone venture that the Health Department doesn’t feel empowered to make those decisions, let me offer an example. This year, when the Legislature changed the benefits for state employees’ insurance, they also recommended the Department of Health make the same changes on the Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP). The Department of Health, within their rights, chose not to follow that recommendation, and instead keep the more expensive benefit. Because that decision fell within one line item, they were not out of line.

In reality, the real problem is that somebody wanted the Legislature to find new money and give extra to the Department of Health to fund Medicaid dental. My position is that if the Department believes that funding for dental is a top priority, they can fund it now and come to the legislature for supplemental funding in the general session. They do this every year for different programs within their budget.

On Wednesday the Daily Herald printed an editorial that said, “Huntsman needs to call the Legislature back to handle this piece of unfinished business, but he must first have his budget planners go over the state's spending package and find the money to finance the program”. This isn’t necessary at all. The Governor can tell the Department of Health today to fund the program, or the Department can do it on their own.

Since the federal government, over the last few years, has continued to fund less and less of the Medicaid programs, the Legislature is taking this year to research the programs and the needs the state will have in the coming years. We already know the funding requirements will be huge. We haven’t wanted to continue a federal optional program unless we were convinced it would be funded one year to the next. Therefore, the Dental program has not yet been funded with new money. Let’s see how really important it is to those empowered to act.

Posted by Jeff at 11:04 AM | Comments (0)

June 07, 2006

Public Education Funding

There is nothing like Education to bring our emotions quickly to the surface! And last week Education was again in the news. The Deseret News reported that the State Board of Education is considering new ways to ensure adequate funding. One idea was a referendum to freeze the statewide property tax or a constitutional amendment that would ensure public education was funded adequately. Another idea from Patrick Ogden, the state associate superintendent, was to file a law suit, which seems to be the way to solve problems in our society today.

Since public education is designed in Utah to be controlled mostly by the local school districts, I find it very interesting that when the education community has concerns about funding they always come to the State level. I’m sure it is because the legislature is the biggest target, and if they can gang up on the legislature there is a better chance of getting the funding, and all at once.

But, the legislature shouldn’t be seen as the only source for new funding, or even the primary one. We have a great system. Whoever set it up, decades ago, was way ahead of their time. Our system was designed for the state to fund a weighted pupil unit and then for the local districts to use property tax to fund any additional needs. Because local areas have such varying needs, it was never the plan for the state alone to ensure total funding, nor should it be. The beauty of this plan is that the local districts and their boards can show their patrons what the local need is and raise the property tax to fill that need instead of the legislature raising a state wide tax and the local districts not being held accountable for the use of the funds. The dilemma for the education community -- they have to raise the funds one district at a time.

This is a subject that won’t be solved anytime too soon, but there are some districts willing to go to their patrons and ask for more money now. The Provo School District has a vote on the ballot this month which asks for an increase in the property tax that can be used to run the district. They are trying to use the system the way it should be used. I hope their patrons will get out and vote and be a part of the solution.

What a great idea.

Posted by Jeff at 10:30 AM | Comments (3)