Health Care Highlights of Senate Budget Bill

On April 1, the Senate passed SB 1, the Senate’s version of the state budget for the next biennium that will start September 1. The Senate proposal appropriates $182 billion from all the state’s funding sources. Money to be appropriated out of the state General Revenue Fund is $87.5 billion, representing a 7.3% increase over the current budget. Education and health and human services spending comprises almost 75% of the budget.

Health care-related costs continue to be the state’s single largest budget
driver.

Health care- and insurance-related aspects of SB 1 reflect:
�� A $5.3 billion increase in all funds for the Medicaid program to deal with (1) rising caseload, twothirdsof which are children, (2) a less favorable federal funding match, (3) increased rates forproviders, (40 expansion of community-based services and other cost increases)
�� No additional state money to allow more families to enroll in the Children’s Health InsuranceProgram (CHIP), to allow families to “buy-in” or to lengthen the enrollment period from six months to a year.

Further details on the Senate-passed version of SB 1 can be found on the Legislative Budget Boardwebsite at www.lbb.state.tx.us.

On April 7, the House Appropriations Committee favorably reported its version of SB 1, as amended.It was referred to the House Calendars Committee on April 8 and goes to Full House consideration ofthe House version.

With the effects of the economy finally hitting Texas, there is speculation that Comptroller SusanCombs may be faced with lowering the revenue estimate she presented to the Legislature in January.The Legislature relies on the revenue estimate in crafting the state budget. If the revenue estimate islowered, the issue of whether to tap into the state’s Rainy Day Fund could resurface. The Senateversion of the state budget avoided tapping into those funds.