Senators say many of the proposed cuts may be scaled back as the budget process continues to move along.
By ALISA ULFERTS
Published March 18, 2004
TALLAHASSEE - Thousands of poor, pregnant women would lose health care coverage. Catastrophically ill people would have to pay for hospitalization and doctor visits themselves. Poor, impotent men would get one dose of Viagra a month.
Those are among the more than $300-million in social service cuts Senate budget writers considered Wednesday as lawmakers move closer to drafting next year's budget. The magnitude of the cuts left members of the Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee vowing to fill as many of the holes as possible.
"These are all life-and-death cuts," said Sen. Durell Peaden, R-Crestview, adding that Wednesday was just the beginning of a budget process that will last several weeks. House budget committees have not yet begun their work.
"We'll continue to visit the issue," Peaden said. "This is our first round - it's kind of a wakeup call."
In proposing such steep cuts, the Senate in some cases surpassed those proposed by Gov. Jeb Bush, who says social programs such as Medicaid are expanding beyond the state's ability to support them.
One cut Peaden said would be restored when his committee meets again today is the elimination of prenatal and delivery care for some 7,000 poor, pregnant women. Under the proposal Peaden's committee considered Wednesday, those women would lose their coverage when the state lowers the income threshold for Medicaid pregnancy coverage from 185 percent of the federal poverty level to 150 percent. Right now, Medicaid pays for close to half of the pregnancies in the state.
"That's going to be corrected tomorrow. I think that's a legitimate issue to salvage," Peaden said.
State Sen. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, said he was particularly bothered by a proposal to gut a youth tobacco awareness program.
"I really want to see that come back," Klein said.
Other proposed social services cuts include:
Eliminating the Medically Needy program, which provides care for catastrophically ill people who can't afford their bills but don't qualify for Medicaid, and replacing it with a prescription drug only program.
Cutting a drug program for poor seniors that has idled in Washington for six months awaiting federal approval.
Freezing Medicaid reimbursements to hospitals.
Cutting payments for staff increases at nursing homes.
Not funding enrollment increases for KidCare, a popular children's health care program.
