All three major state players have now released their proposals for what should happen to funding for health care and human services during this state’s latest budget deficit. The Governor would eliminate General Assistance and end income assistance to thousands of families with disabled parents and children on the Minnesota Family Investment Program. The House would cut what is already deep-poverty level assistance to some families, cut funding that has helped create short-term skill-building jobs and cut funding for services to families that turn to General Assistance. But the Senate shows it is possible to build a budget that makes no cuts to MFIP and General Assistance. Nor does the Senate make the devastating cuts to mental health services the House proposes. Nneither the House nor Senate cut off health care coverage to adults without children on Minnesota Care.

The next steps: one more committee in the House has to vote on the House’s proposed Health and Human Services budget and then it will be up (maybe later next week) for the full House to vote on it. The Senate has to move its budget proposals through committees in the Senate. Once both the Senate and the House have approved their version of the budget, there will be a conference process to develop an agreement on the budget so it can be sent to the Governor.

Both the House and Senate’s budget proposals include proposals to move people from General Assistance Medical Care to Medical Assistance, now possible because of health care reform. The advantage to such a move would be that the federal government pays half the cost and the coverage is much more complete – a significant advantage in light of the fact that most hospitals are declining to take part in what they see as a deeply underfunded General Assistance Medical Care program that emerged from the negotiations between the legislature and the Governor after his veto. How that question is resolved will be a critical part of the negotiations for the Health and Human Services budget as it moves forward.

We will post more detailed information on our website in the next 24 hours. And we will be giving Affirmative Options members ways to weigh in with legislators to ensure that those who are unemployed, ill and disabled and who have to turn to General Assistance and MFIP do not find the meager resources offered cut even more – especially during this recession.

Thank you for all that you have done so far – it is making a difference.