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2010 Budget Cuts Summary
The 2010 cuts summarized below are in ADDITION TO the 2009 cuts.
AHCCCS and Health Care cuts
significantly scale back AHCCCS voter mandated Prop 204 health care coverage.
• 47,000 children lose health care with the elimination of KidsCare. THE ENROLLMENT CAP CONTINUES FOR KIDSCARE. While both of these cuts have been restored, they were only restored because of Health Care Reform and the threat of loss of up to $8billion dollars in federal funds. The restorations of the AHCCCS cuts are contingent upon enhanced federal matching funds.
• Community health centers have essentially lost all of their $14 million dollars of state funds basically cutting their fee based programs for low income families without health care coverage. Thousands of families are impacted.
Behavioral Health cuts
• 17,000 seriously mentally ill adults face dramatic reductions in services if federal matching funds are not restored.
• 4,200 children to lose behavioral health services leaving children and families with no where to turn.
• 6,600 people losing substance abuse services --- leaving families abandon to addictions and children in those families at greater risk, stuck in the child welfare system, or people jailed or deaths or more emergency rooms visits and 911 calls. This is both cost shifting to local governments and other people and business paying health insurance premiums.
• 11,000 people getting general mental health services --- except for some very limited medication and medication management services. THIS CUT IS BEING IMPLEMENTED OVER THE NEXT 60 DAYS.
Human Services cuts
• 20,000 children have been denied child care on a so-called turn away list with many more to be turned away from child care with child care permanently closed for the foreseeable future stopping families from working and putting children at risk.
• There are no longer 100% investigations of child protection or adult protection referrals and continued elimination of family support services.
• The system of in home family services has already been cut severely in the 2009/2010 cuts and will now be cut even with more families losing services and their children potentially going into foster care.
• Cuts in emergency services (eviction prevention, homeless prevention, etc) services for families in crisis effecting meaning 1,100 fewer families will receive emergency services.
• Cuts in domestic violence services reducing service to 1,600 victims of domestic violence will be turned away from shelters.
• Cuts in aging independent living services impacting hundreds of elderly and people with disabilities.
• Eliminate support for grandparents caring for their grandchildren.
• Eliminate state only supported services for children and adults with developmental disabilities throwing 300 children and 400 adults off services.
Department of Housing
REFERRAL OF FIRST THINGS FIRST TO THE NOVEMBER BALLOT
2009 Budget Cuts Summary
AHCCCS budget cuts summary highlights below because of the technical nature of these cuts. ---Details at http://www.azahcccs.gov/Services/ProgramChangesFY09Budget/2_18_09/Default.asp
• KidsCare Premiums Increase - AHCCCS is seeking to increase KidsCare premiums for children andhouseholds/parents. Members will receive notice prior to implementation of the changes as follows:
• 5% Fee-for-Service (FFS) Rate Reduction - Effective February 1, 2009, AHCCCS implemented a 5%
rate reduction for payment of services provided to members enrolled in the AHCCCS FFS program,
the Medicaid School Based Claiming (MSBC) program and the Comprehensive Medical and Dental
Program (CMDP).
• Elimination of Part D Co-Payments -- As of February 28, 2009, the Medicare Part D co-payments for
AHCCCS Dual Eligible Members will be discontinued for 89,000 participants.
Department of Health Services Public Health and Behavioral Health Reductions and Consequences
• Children's Behavioral Health Services - Reduce the level of Children's Behavioral Health state-only
funded services for 5,581 children.
• Children's Rehabilitative Services - Suspend non-title XIX Children's Rehabilitative services for all
2,700 enrollees.
• Senior Food Program - Suspend 13,708 senior food boxes (each totaling 45 pounds of food).
• Reduce Medicare Part D Co-payments to Regional Behavioral Health Agencies.
• Reduce community health center services for 5,529 individuals
• These cuts include $10 million dollars to the behavioral health system, $4 million for curtailing
120,000 vaccinations just think about the public health implications of something like that), reduce
Alzheimer’s fund research and a variety of other public health measures.
For detailed information on Department of Health Services cuts go to:
Aging and Adult Services
vulnerable adults at risk.
• Eliminating independent living supports for 450 older Arizonans leaving these elders at risk of
institutionalization, hospitalization or other similar bad consequences.
• Eliminate lifespan respite care funding which eliminates services for 130 caregivers.
• Eliminate $75 monthly grandparent kinship care stipend for 100 grandparents.
Employment and Rehabilitation Services (includes Child Care)
assistance for families with income between 110 and 165 of the poverty level, affecting 20,000
children and thousands for families who might have to leave work contributing to more unemployment
or potentially children being left alone and at risk.
• Reduce Jobs contracts helping people on public assistance trapping families on TANF
• Impose a waiting list for vocational rehabilitation services for 1,100 disabled individuals.
• Impose a waiting list for independent living rehabilitation services for 400 individuals.
• Increase child care co-payments, reduce child care provider rates by five percent for 6,500 providers
and reduce funding for child care quality contracts.
Benefits - Food Stamps and Cash Assistance
• Eliminate General Assistance immediately with the final benefit paid in February to 1,500 disabled
adults leaving these people at risk of homelessness, hospitalization or other similar bad
consequences
• Reduce by pass-through funds for Tribes that operate their own TANF programs (Navajo, San Carlos
Apache, White Mountain Apache, Pascua Yaqui, Hopi)
• Reduce cash assistance TANF grant payments by 20% for the 38,500 cases (including child-only
cases) in the program.
• Child Support Enforcement - • Reduce by 10 percent federal incentive payment sharing with counties
operating their own child support program (Gila, La Paz, Navajo, and Pinal Counties)
Children, Youth and Families (Child Protective Services and other Child Welfare Services)
• DES will NOT investigate 100 percent of potential risk reports made to the Child Protective Services
because of CPS staff cutbacks and furloughs potentially leaving thousands of children at risk.
• Reduce independent living stipends paid to 400 children aging out of the foster care system by 10
percent, from $795 to $715.
• Reduce or eliminate in-home services for 4,000 children and reduce or eliminate support this could
result in many more children going into foster care.
• Reduce substance abuse services contracts, eliminating services for 1,400 individuals --- again
leaving children in foster care or forcing children in foster care because treatment for family members
is not available.
• Reduce Healthy Families eliminating prevention services for 3,500 families and thousands of at risk
children potential in harms way.
• Reduce Family Foster Care payments by 20%.
Community Services
• Reduce homeless shelter services decreasing shelter capacity by 1,100 individuals at a time when
more and more families are experiencing homelessness.
• Reduce community action program services eliminating short term crisis services for 1,000 families
• Reduce contracts with food banks and reducing capacity for food distribution.
• Preliminary cuts to domestic violence services were announced totaling $1.3 million dollar. More cuts
are pending.
Developmental Disabilities
• Reduce provider rates by 10 percent plus reductions in other state only services yet to be determined, staff reductions will cause caseloads to rise.
• Elimination of state-only services to children and adults with developmental disabilities and early intervention services for infants 0 to three years old at risk for developmental delays.