Advocates were stunned today when House Appropriations Health Subcommittee Chair Jeff Brown handed out a list of possible cuts in the Department of Community Health (DCH) FY 2006 budget.
All of these are cuts that were proposed by the DCH board last fall when the state economy was still in questionable shape. As state revenues began to rebound at the end of 2004, however, Gov. Perdue was able to avoid including the worst-case cuts in his budget recommendations.
Rep. Brown stated that the Subcommittee was trying to find possible savings as there could be no additions to the FY 2006 budget without cuts.
These reductions add up to $54.2 million in state funds, and the loss in federal funds if all the cuts were made would be $164.9 million! Here are some of the items included in list of proposed cuts to the DCH budget for FY 2006:
Charge premiums for children ages 1 to 5 participating in the PeachCare for Kids program ($4.2 million in state funds)
Eliminate optional dental services ($7.2 million state funds)
Eliminate optional adult orthotics and prosthetics ($1.5 million state)
Reduce reimbursement for all categories of service by 1% except for hospital, nursing home, and pharmacy services ($7.8 million state)
Verify continuation of active cancer treatment for women in the breast and cervical cancer program, ($1 million state)
Restrict coverage to 185% of the federal poverty level for pregnant women and children; no spend-down allowed ($4.9 million state)
It is really hard to believe that House budget leaders would consider these cuts, but we cannot afford to take that chance.
Action Needed
A list of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Health members follows. Please contact them immediately and let them know that these cuts are unnecessary, unacceptable and wrong. Contact information is also included for House Appropriations Chair Ben Harbin and Governor Perdue. Please respond to this alert immediately as the budget process is moving very quickly.
House Appropriations Subcommittee on Health
Rep. Jeff Brown, Chair, Dist. 69, R-LaGrange
jbrown@legis.state.ga.us, 404-463-2247 capitol, 404-463-2249 fax
Rep. Donna Sheldon, Sec., Dist. 105, R-Dacula
dsheldon@legis.state.ga.us, 404-656-0188 capitol, 404-651-8086 fax
Rep. Sue Burmeister, Dist. 119, R-Augusta
subrmyster@aol.com, 404-656-5024 capitol, 404-657-8278 fax
Rep. Mark Butler, Dist. 18, R-Carrollton
mbutler@legis.state.ga.us, 404-656-0213 capitol
Rep. Mickey Channell, Dist. 116, D-Greensboro
mchannell@legis.state.ga.us, 404-656-0298 capitol, 404-463-4559 fax
Rep. David Graves, Dist. 137, R-Macon
repdavidgraves@hotmail.com, 404-656-7855 capitol, 404-657-0499 fax
Rep. Carolyn Hugley, Dist. 133, D-Columbus
chugley@legis.state.ga.us, 404-656-5058 capitol
Rep. Judy Manning, Dist. 32, R-Marietta
judymanning@bellsouth.net, 404-656-7857 capitol, 404-463-2044 fax
Rep. Jay Shaw, Dist. 176, D-Lakeland
jshaw@legis.state.ga.us, 404-656-7859 capitol, 404-651-8086 fax
Rep. Ron Stephens, Dist. 164, R-Savannah
quickrxdrg@aol.com, 404-656-5122 capitol
Rep. Len Walker, Dist. 107, R-Loganville
lwalker@nfumc.org, 404-656-5139 capitol
Rep. Larry O'Neal, Ex Officio, Dist. 146, R-Warner Robins
loneal@legis.state.ga.us, 404-656-5103 capitol, 404-656-6385 fax
Rep. Ben Harbin, Chair House Appropriations
bharbin@legis.state.ga.us, 404-463-2247 capitol, 404-463-2249
Governor Sonny Perdue
www.gov.state.ga.us/contact_dom.shtml 404-656-1776, 404-657-7332 fax