Tuesday, May 27, 2003 | 9:57 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- Low-income mothers, senior citizens and people with mental health problems will all benefit under the proposed two-year, $4.8 billion budget that is nearing final approval in the Legislature.
But social service advocates are keeping their fingers crossed that a tax program will be approved with enough money to finance the programs approved by the Senate and Assembly budget committees.
"It's not the best, but we did OK," said Jan Gilbert, a lobbyist for the Nevada Progressive Leadership Alliance, a diverse group of labor, ethnic and poverty groups.
Gilbert said this session was not a time for enhancements in view of the tight budget proposals.
Bobbie Gang, representing the Nevada Women's Lobby, said, "We did pretty well in a number of things."
She said she was pleased that the budget committee decided to remove an assets test next year, making more poverty-level mothers and their children eligible for Medicaid.
She also said the program for Clark County to take over some child welfare services from the state is a gain.
For the first time there will be money for a suicide prevention program; there also will be an expansion of the Senior Rx drug purchase program and an increase in the Check-Up program that provides insurance for children of the working poor.
Lawmakers are recommending construction of a $32.2 million, 150-bed psychiatric hospital at the Southern Nevada Adult Mental Health Center. In the interim, they have approved $3.3 million to expand the unit from 88 to 103 beds.
A new mobile crisis unit is being created in Clark County to provide services to the mentally ill who are filling the beds in hospital emergency rooms. Its goal is getting unbalanced people into the state mental health facilities more quickly or into community-based treatment programs.
There is also money to provide drugs for more people with mental problems and an additional psychiatric ambulatory unit in Clark County to work in the community with these individuals.
The state will raise its rates by 7 percent in January 2004 to community training centers and supported living arrangement units for those who care for the mentally retarded. An additional 8 percent will be added in July 2004.
The committees agreed with Gov. Kenny Guinn's recommendation to reduce the number of beds at Desert Regional Center in Las Vegas and transfer more of the mentally retarded into the community through living, training and work programs.
The budget committees adopted Guinn's recommendation to eliminate the assets test for low-income mother with children to qualify for Medicaid. This will mean an additional 300 mothers and 2,000 children will be eligible when the program starts in July 2004.
However, eligibility will still be measured by the income of the families. The Legislature approved this program two years ago, but it was never started due to budget cuts when the state faced a downturn in tax revenue.
Jon Sasser of Nevada Legal Services said he's worried that another budget crunch in the next two years could delay the program.
The program for the state to shift some of its child welfare services including adoption and foster care to Clark County also was approved. The move has been completed in Washoe County, but it is still in progress in Southern Nevada.
The Legislature is providing $10 million for the reopening of Summit View Youth Correctional Center in North Las Vegas for a state-run operation of the facility. Mothballed since January 2002, it will start with 24 beds in November and gradually expand to its capacity of 96 beds in August 2004.
There are more than 20 new staff members authorized at the state boys reformatory in Elko, which was the target of a federal investigation that found some of the youths were mistreated and that there was an insufficient number of employees for mental health treatment. In addition, the training center in Caliente that houses both girl and boy delinquents will receive 19 additional employees.
The Senate and Assembly budget committees rejected Guinn's recommendation to close two inpatient programs at Desert Willow Treatment Center for troubled youth in Las Vegas. One provided psychiatric care for the most severely emotionally disturbed children and the other treated adolescent male sexual offenders.
The Senate Finance Committee found $315,070 in federal funds to start a suicide prevention program, making the money available to local nonprofit groups. The Assembly Ways and Means is expected to endorse the move this week.
For the first time, the state will put general fund money into the Senior Rx program that provides free insurance coverage to low-income senior citizens to purchase drugs. The program has been supported by money from the tobacco settlement up to now.
The new money allows the enrollment to rise from 7,500 to 12,160.
In February there were 1,391 people waiting to enroll, which was capped at that time.
The formula to qualify was also changed. Under the new standard a married couple with $28,660 would qualify for the program, in which seniors pay a small co-pay for their drugs.
The state Division of Aging will be getting five new employees for its ombudsman's program to make more frequent visits to nursing homes and others to make sure patients are being treated properly.
Enrollment in Nevada Check-Up, which provides medical insurance coverage of children up to 18 years old of low-income families, is expected to continue to grow from 25,000 to 31,000 in 2005. The average premium paid by a family is $36.95 a year. The lawmakers agreed with the governor to raise the premium anywhere from $5 to $20 to help offset rising costs.
Physically disabled people who earn income will be able to buy into Medicaid coverage to help pay their bills, starting next April. The state expects about 500 people to join this "Ticket to Work" program.
The state Welfare Division will be authorized to open a new office in Las Vegas.
The Medicaid budget calls for increases for some physicians and others who treat needy patients.
Health Maintenance Organizations that cover Medicaid patients will receive a 6.9 percent increase. Pharmacy rates are to go up 12 percent in each of the next two years. And there will be higher rates for therapy services, air ambulances, dental and adult day health care.
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