Sierra Jimenez of Southeast Alaska Independent Living.
Governor Mike Dunleavy made numerous line-item vetoes to the state budget, many of which reduced funding for healthcare services. Whether or not those budget cuts will stand is unclear. However, uncertainty over funding is already starting to affect organizations serving seniors and people with disabilities in Haines.
When the legislature passed its first budget in June, the governor vetoed $58 million in funding for Medicaid. This cut resulted in a 5 percent reduction in reimbursements for healthcare providers such as Cornerstone Home Health. They provide home care for about 30 residents in Haines.
Bev Mclaughlin manages Cornerstone’s office in Haines. She says that reduced Medicaid reimbursements mean the state is paying 2 to 4 dollars an hour less to Cornerstone for its services. Mclaughlin says that Cornerstone won’t lower wages as a result of the cut, but it may freeze new hires and wage increases.
Reductions in Medicaid spending were one of the more contentious aspects of the governor’s budget cuts. More than a quarter of the state’s population is covered by Medicaid, and it is one of the state’s largest expenses.
But Medicaid isn’t the only healthcare program threatened by state budget cuts.
“The home modification program for seniors who want to age in place and remain in their community, in their home, that program was completely eliminated,” says Sierra Jimenez, the Assistant Director of Southeast Alaska Independent Living (SAIL). “That program provides a ramp and safety grab bars or a tall toilet, roll-in shower in a home. The cost of that is minimal compared to what it does cost the state for somebody on Medicaid to be in a nursing home. That’s the alternative.”
SAIL completed six home modifications in Haines last year, using money from the state program. Jimenez says that cutting state programs like this affects SAIL’s clients rather than the organization itself.
“At this point our operational funds are solid. SAIL has really diversified funding. We do have some state grants, but we’re not completely dependent upon it,” Jimenez says.
Other healthcare providers have not been as lucky. REACH, Inc. provides support for people with developmental disabilities in Southeast Alaska. Recently the organization’s supervisor for the Haines office, Christy Long, lost her job. In an email, executive director Dan Elstad said REACH has had to tighten its belt across the agency due to state budget cuts.
The state budget is still in limbo. The legislature recently passed HB2001, which restores much of the funding eliminated in Governor Dunleavy’s line-item vetoes from June. The governor still has the ability to veto those items again, and he has indicated he will.
