Capitol Report: May 4, 2017

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill on Thursday to repeal major parts of Obamacare and replace it with a Republican healthcare plan. With the 217-213 vote, Republicans obtained just enough support to push the legislation through the House, sending it to the Senate for consideration.

The new healthcare plan aims, in part, to help slow the loss of major insurers providing health care coverage across the country. Anthem Blue Cross-Blue Shield is the latest major insurer to voice concerns over the uncertainty of healthcare currently, and is indicating that it may pull out of the system next year.

If Anthem and its Blue Cross-Blue Shield affiliates do in fact pull back in 2018, it could leave more than 800,000 individual plan customers in 14 states either without subsidized Obamacare coverage or more limited choices. About 255,000 people throughout Colorado, Kentucky, Missouri and Ohio would have no Obamacare insurers beginning in 2018 if Anthem were to pull out. Meanwhile, 560,000 people in eight other states would have just one insurer left.

Hopefully, Congress will enact some healthcare laws that will improve coverage and reduce costs during the next few months. This should help us next year to improve Medicaid and medical services offered in the Missouri state budget.

BUDGET IS PASSED

Although no one got everything they wished for, the Missouri General Assembly gave final approval to a state spending plan that fully funds the Foundation Formula for K-12 education for the first time. The legislature had until Friday, May 5 to get the operating budget across the legislative finish line, and final negotiations between the House and Senate took several days before finally resolving on Thursday. The budget that now heads to the governor’s desk invests approximately $27.7 billion in the state’s priorities while also dealing with the reality of sluggish revenue growth.

Lawmakers started the budget process with the challenge of finding a way to bridge a $500 million funding shortfall. The final version of the plan bridges that gap while also providing record levels of funding for K-12 education; funding necessary to protect Missouri’s most vulnerable citizens; and an additional $198 million on the bottom line for emergency and supplemental expenses, including additional expenses related to Medicaid growth.

The decision to fully fund the School Foundation Formula was put forth as the top priority for the House Budget Chairman at the beginning of the budget process. The version of the budget passed out of the House included a funding boost of $48 million to achieve full funding. The Senate then planned to scale back the increase, but during debate on the Senate floor a majority of Senators voted to agree with the House and move forward with full funding for the first time since the formula was approved by lawmakers in 2005.

The formula was created to ensure each school district in the state has adequate funding to meet educational standards. It was meant to be implemented over a series of years and fully funded by 2013, but the economic downturn in the late 2000s and early 2010s caused revenue shortfalls that prohibited the legislature from achieving full funding. However, this year the budget has covered the gap.

Also included in this year’s budget is a partial restoration of a cut proposed by the governor to in-home care and nursing home services for some of Missouri’s most vulnerable citizens. The governor had recommended increasing the eligibility requirements for these services, which would have resulted in approximately 20,000 seniors and disabled Missourians no longer qualifying for the state-funded care. The House then moved to fully restore them to their original levels so that no one would be cut off from care. The final version of the budget represents a compromise that increases requirements slightly, but also includes a provision that would restore all of the proposed cut if the Senate passes the Senior Services Protection Fund that was approved by the House earlier in session.

The Senior Services Protection Fund would end the renter’s portion of the senior citizens property tax credit in order to generate funds that would be used to protect the existing level of service to Missouri seniors and disabled citizens. If approved by the Senate, the bill would also restore funding for brain injury services provided by the Department of Health that have been withheld in previous budget cycles; restore a portion of a cut proposed by the governor to reimbursement rates for Medicaid providers; and provide additional funding for the state’s Area Agencies on Aging for use in the Meals on Wheels program that provides meal assistance to seniors.

The appropriations bills now move into the hands of the governor, who can sign the bills into law, or exercise his line item veto authority to object to specific spending lines in the budget. The governor also has the power to withhold certain spending items if it is necessary to keep the budget in balance. Now lawmakers will continue to monitor the state’s revenue growth with the hope that it meets projections so that all aspects of the budget can be funded fully.

Other budget highlights include:

•  An additional $25 million to restore a cut proposed to public school transportation.

•  $6 million to increase broadband Internet access in rural schools.

•  $12.3 million increase for early childhood special education.

•  $500,000 added to pilot a program to promote STEM education in middle schools.

•  $4 million in additional funding for Bright Flight scholarships.

•  $157 million to fund the Excellence in Mental Health Pilot Project. Missouri is one of a handful of states participating in the program to increase access to community mental health and substance abuse treatment services.

•  Nearly $3 million in funding to help implement the system of voter identification that was approved by Missouri voters last year.

•  $1 million for grants to volunteer fire fighter associations to help offset the increasing costs of workers’ compensation premiums.

•  $250,000 to upgrade the state’s Amber Alert system to allow it to be integrated with the Silver Alert System and the Blue Alert System.

•  $62 million in new funding for road construction.

•  $25 million new federal dollars for rail, port, and freight program expansion.

•  Funding to fulfill the state’s obligation to the biodiesel producer incentive fund.

•  A funding increase for the state employee pension system, which brings the plan to a record level of state support.

•  The final version of the budget continues to eliminate funding for abortion services.

It is an honor to serve the 51st District in the Missouri House of Representatives. Each week I will issue a capitol report to keep you informed of activities in Jefferson City. Any concerns or issues you might have are of great interest to me. I look forward to your input and thoughts, so please feel free to contact me at any time if you have questions, concerns, or ideas to improve our state government and the quality of life for all Missourians. My telephone number is 573-751-2204 or you may contact me by email at dean.dohrman@house.mo.gov. Thank you for working with me to make Missouri a great place to live.