Seniors At Risk with State Agencies' Budget Cut Proposals to Governor

Governor Gregoire has asked state agencies to create proposals for cutting State spending by up to 10% over the 2011-13 biennium.  If all submitted reduction proposals were to be implemented, expenditures would be reduced by an approximate $1.7B. 

Aging Services has been meeting with key budget writers and leadership of the House and Senate, telling our collective stories and emphasizing the very real financial and social impacts to communities and individuals throughout the state, and in particular, the districts they themselves represent.  We will of course be continuing that advocacy, with your help, with elected officials into the 2nd Special Session and beyond.


The majority of the proposed cuts and fee increases, or a revenue package(s) relied upon in lieu of these or other cuts, would need the authorization of the Legislature in order to be implemented.  The legislature will convene for a scheduled 2nd 2011 Special Session on November 28^th and again for the 2012 Regular Session on January 10, 2012, both of which are opportunities for swift budget action.   

Within the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), the primary source of assistance for Washington's seniors who rely on Medicaid dollars for their care and service needs, a 10% reduction equates to a reduction of General Fund/State (GF-s) dollar spending by $573M. Combined with the corresponding loss in federal matching dollars, the proposed reductions would result in an estimated reduction of $873M in total spending. 

The Aging and Disability Services Administration (ADSA) within DSHS submitted their budget reduction proposal for the areas of long term care and critical supports and services for seniors, totaling approximately $137M General Fund/State (GF-s) in cuts and representing nearly 1/4 of the entire DSHS targeted 10% cut. 

Specific proposals affecting senior care and services include:

1.     Eliminating Adult Day Health ($4M GF-s);

2.     Eliminating, effective July 1, 2013, the nursing facility Medicaid payment rate low wage earner component ($2.6M GF-s);

3.     Eliminating, effective July 1, 2013, the nursing facility Medicaid payment rate 10% direct care acuity add-on component ($5.4M GF-s);

4.     Implementing significant eligibility and programmatic reductions which would then eliminate altogether or severely reduce services for nearly 17,000 current and future Medicaid long term care and support services recipients; this equates to a loss of approximately 11,700 home care clients, 1000 adult family home residents, 3,700 boarding home residents and 450 nursing home residents ($125M GF-s);

5.     Closing two wards, discharging and transferring 60 persons from Western State psychiatric hospital into community based residential care ($5M GF-s net two programs);

6.     Eliminating, effective March 1, 2012, the Boarding Home capital rate add-on for those boarding home contractors serving greater than sixty percent Medicaid ($2M GF-s), and other savings proposals;

7.     Increasing, effective July 1, 2012, the Adult Family Home license fee from its current rate of $175/bed to $375/bed, netting an additional $2.5M in revenue.

It remains to be seen whether the above proposals will be incorporated into the Governor’s budget or either of the supplemental budgets of the House or Senate, but the message is clear: social and health services programs are likely to face severe budget reductions.  The voting public, however, may consider their plight worthy of support for new taxes in a revenue package.  As you may have read, a 1% increase in the sales tax would raise $1B in new revenue.  

Sources indicate that Democrats in both the House and Senate would like to put forward a revenue package via a February, 2012 ballot measure to the general public in order to avoid cuts of the magnitude proposed by the agencies.  The Senate, however, may face difficulties in mustering the necessary 25 votes to pass such a revenue referendum, even as recent polls indicate that public support for new revenue may be increasing over an “all cuts” approach to closing the budget gap.  Should a budget referendum not pass out of the Legislature, there will be no opportunity to put the issue before the voting public.

We will continue our dialogue with state agencies and elected officials as budget proposals are further refined and interpreted in order to gauge their impacts on Aging Services members and inform our committee and Board discussions for the development of Association policy positions and advocacy directives.