Christine Jordan SextonThe House released a health care budget on Tuesday that has no supplemental Medicaid dollars to help pay hospitals, federally qualified health centers, graduate medical education and even prepaid health plans.
House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Matt Hudson said it would be “premature” for the House to include supplemental, or Low Income Pool, dollars in the budget given the fact the federal government has not approved the continuation of the program beyond June 30, 2015.
Hudson said as the state receives more definitive information from the federal government the House will update its budget.
“We hope to have resolution before the end of the session,” Hudson said as he discussed the initial proposed budget.
The proposed budget does eliminate nearly 600 positions existing positions from the Department of Health and another 219 vacant positions. The Agency for Health Care Administration is targeted to lose 81 positions.
