OK. Gov. Chris Gregoire doesn't actually thank the Service Employees International Union for all its hard (and expensive) work in helping her win reelection, not in her budget, anyway. But I'm sure she did thank them at some point, especially Local 775.

But her budget provides absolutely no money to pay for the extra hours of training that the union wanted for its current (and future) members, the home-care workers who take care of disabled people in their homes. That's what Initiative 1029 was all about, wasn't it? It does, however, have money to pay for criminal background checks to make sure the workers haven't been convicted of elder abuse and other such crimes.

But the $30 million for 75 hours of training isn't in the 2009-11 budget. I guess House Speaker Frank Chopp will have to put some in the budget for SEIU, over the bodies of his caucus' nurse-member contingent, I suspect. (Opponents of I-1029 contended it gave the union a big tool for recruitment, by letting them say the state will pay for their training.)

UPDATE: SEIU says the governor's budget proposal violates the law. (True, it would take a two-thirds vote in the Legislature to change I-1029 this soon, but I don't think that's really going to be a problem next session.)

You'll notice that Gregoire also books $780 million in more Medicaid money from the feds and $150 million increase in welfare money from the feds. That's the assumption that Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, called the huge "flaw" in the guv's budget.

Can you imagine how much worse the cuts to Health Care and Human Services would be (they're cut by 12.2 percent in guv's budget) if the Legislature doesn't get the money and has to cut another $1 billion (or ask voters to raise taxes)?

[More:]

Thank the House Democratic caucus staff for this summary.

Summary of Governor’s ’09-’11 Health Care and Human Services Budget

FEDERAL FUNDING (assumed)

o $779 million in increased federal participation (Federal Medical Assistance Percentage or FMAP) for the Medicaid program as part of the anticipated federal economic stimulus package
o $152 million in TANF contingency funding
o Higher federal match for children between 150-200% of federal poverty through the reauthorization of the State’s Children Health Insurance program (SCHIP) by Congress

HEALTH CARE (includes Health Care Authority, Department of Social and Health Services and the Department of Health)

Programs Eliminated

o The purchase of all vaccines for children other than those covered by Medicaid are who are uninsured - saves $49.6 million
o Medical care for the General Assistance - Unemployable (GAU) program - saves $251.3 million (mitigated by $40 million added to the Health Care Authority to support Community Health Clinics)
o Dental residency program- saves $1.9 million
o Quality Forum- saves $1.3 million
o Several state supported programs which were added during the 2008 legislative session are either reduced or eliminated. These include cord blood collection, lead poison screening, colorectal cancer screening, rare blood and marrow collection, senior falls prevention program and hearing intervention follow-up- saves $7.4 million

Program Reductions

o Reduce Basic Health Plan funding by 42% through administrative savings, changes in BHP benefits package and lower enrollment- saves $252 million
o Delay implementation of the Health Insurance Partnership- saves $11.8 million
o Do not implement coverage of children between 250 and 300% of the federal poverty level - saves $6.1 million
o 1% reduction to rates paid to Medical Assistance managed care plans will continue through the biennium - saves $37.7 million
o Hospitals, excluding psychiatric ones, will see their inpatient and outpatient rates reduced by 4% - saves $46.9 million
o Increase use of generic drugs by 20%, consolidate drug purchasing and reduce coverage for some drugs and make some changes to hospital payment – saves $108.6 million
o State support for family planning activities is reduced by $1 million

MENTAL HEALTH

Programs Eliminated

o Pilot projects, consumer outcome surveys, WSIPP outcome study, University of Washington children’s mental health evidence-based practice institute contract, and innovative service grants are eliminated- saves $4.9 million

Program Reductions
o Mental Health Services provided through regional support networks are reduced. Medicaid rates down by 3.2% and non-Medicaid funding is decreased by 7.4% - saves $30.5 million

DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

Programs Eliminated
o Close the Yakima Valley School, a developmental disabilities institution - saves $1 million. Funding is provided for community settings

Program Reductions
o Homecare worker training enhancements added in 2007 (SHB 2289) are suspended this biennium- saves $5.9 million
o Enroll 263 state-only clients receiving residential services in the Medicaid basic and core waivers, allowing the state to draw down increased federal matching funds- saves $18.9 million

LONG TERM CARE

Programs Eliminated

o Adult Day Health Program- saves $20.3 million
o Senior Companion program

Program Reductions

· Care provider rate changes- saves $60 million

· About one-third of the people who receive in-home care from home care agencies will be required to use an individual provider rather than more expensive agency services

· Homecare worker training enhancements enacted in 2007 (2SHB 2284) are suspended this biennium

· Medicaid nursing home rates are scheduled to go up by 2.5 percent on 7/1/09. The Governor proposes to reduce rates by 7.5 percent, so the net reduction is 5 percent

· Suspension of Initiative 1029 this biennium, with the exception of background checks- saves $29 million

CHILDREN’S SERVICES

Programs Eliminated

o Eliminate Secure Crisis Resident Centers- saves $9.3 million
o Council for Children and Families and Family Policy Council- saves $7 million
o Funding for trauma mitigation, intensive resource foster homes, and sex abuse recognition training is eliminated. The Foster Care to Age 21 pilot is eliminated, yet funding is retained to allow youth currently in the program to continue until they age out- saves $3.9 million

Program Reductions

o Expedite adoptions for 600 legally free children and eliminating five-year adoption support reviews- saves $2.3 million
o Reduce guardianship placement, except for IV E placements- saves $1.5 million
o Crisis family Intervention services and contracts with chemical dependency professionals are reduced- saves $5.9 million

ECONOMIC SERVICES

Programs Eliminated

o General Assistance- Unemployable grants (GA-X and GA for aged, blind and disabled is retained)- saves $156 million (mitigated by $10 million for CTED to administer emergency housing)
o Chemical dependency professionals in community services organizations (CSOs)- saves $6 million

Program Reductions

o Child Care subsidy increase of $10/month for families above 82% of the federal poverty level (FPL)- saves $4.6 million
o 5% caseload reduction in WorkFirst. Funding for education services limited to TANF clients- saves $68 million

JUVENILE REHABILITATION

Programs Eliminated

o Close of Griffin Home and Touchstone community transitional facilities- saves $2.2 million
o Close Naselle Youth Camp- saves $12.8 million

Program Reductions

o Reduce funding in evidence-based programs. Funding is reduced to fiscal year 2007 budgeted amounts - saves $10 million

VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION

Total reduction of $2.6 million through leveraging federal revenue and reducing the federal expenditure authority for the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation to achieve savings in state fund match funding.

SPECIAL COMMITMENT CENTER

Reductions in contracts for education services and nursing- saves $5.4 million

ADDS
o 20 slots added to Mental Health for placements of Dangerously Mentally Ill Offenders who are released from prison

Here is the SEIU reaction to the governor's budget proposal.

Long-Term Care Workers: Governor’s Budget Protects Home Care, but Ignores Will of Voters, Violates Law

The national economic decline created by Bush Administration has created a devastating budget deficit in Washington State. We believe our state budget must both protect the most vulnerable and help rebuild our economy.

We are pleased that the Governor has recognized the importance of home and community-based services by rejecting cuts to home care services for the most vulnerable. Washington has led the way nationally in giving seniors and people with disabilities the ability to live with dignity in their own homes and now is not the time to backtrack on that progress.

However, broader cuts to health care services for working families are short-sighted. Voters want to expand access to affordable health care – not reduce it. The Governor’s budget will force tens of thousands of working adults and children to lose their health care in the middle of a recession. These people won’t stop needing health care – they will simply get care in emergency rooms – at great cost to the taxpayers.

The Governor’s budget also ignores the will of the voters by failing to fund I-1029. Initiative 1029, to improve training for home care workers, got more votes than any other initiative in state history. It got more votes than President Obama, and more than Governor Gregoire. The Governor’s budget ignores the will of the voters by failing to fund this critical initiative that is needed to ensure safe, quality care for seniors and people with disabilities.

Suspending I-1029 would requires a two-thirds vote in the state legislature – the same vote that would be required to suspend Tim Eyman’s I-960 that prevents the legislature from using a majority vote to close any of the hundreds of corporate tax loopholes costing taxpayers billions of dollars a year.

The Governor’s budget also violates state law by failing to fund the home care union contract covering 23,000 individual provider home care workers across the state. The contract provides a modest increase – 22-cents in 2009 and 25-cents in 2010 – to low-wage caregivers who make less than $11/hr to provide life-sustaining care to vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities. Every economist knows that the best way to get out of a recession is to put more money in the pockets of those likely to spend it in their local communities – especially low-wage workers.

We look forward to working with the Governor and the Legislature to develop creative solutions that protect the most vulnerable and help rebuild our economy. We need to ensure that the budget is not balanced on the backs of middle-class and working families, but that the wealthy and corporations bear their fair share to help close the deficit. We appreciate that the Governor has invited collaboration in solving the state’s budget crisis; we intend to take her up on the offer.

Adam Glickman-Flora
Vice-President and
Director of Public Affairs
SEIU Healthcare 775NW