Senate committee adopts amendment and passes Senate Bill 347 to raise disability-service reimbursements

At a meeting of the Senate Committee on Public Health, members adopted Amendment 1 and passed Senate Bill 347 as amended, moving to increase reimbursement rates for certain disability services and raise a per-client cap for adults with disabilities.

The amendment eliminates the second and third years of a previously scheduled three-year “stair-step” increase, raising the reimbursement rate to 60% of the 50th percentile and increasing the cap for adults with disabilities from $500 to $1,000. Senator Penzo presented the amendment and described the changes to the committee.

Senator Penzo said, "So what the amendment does is, this was a 3 year stair step. This takes the first year and eliminates the second and third year. So it increases the reimbursement rate to 60% of the fiftieth percentile. Right now, I believe we're sitting around 36%, brings it up to 60% of the fiftieth percentile, and then it raises the cap on, adults with disabilities from 500 to a thousand dollars." Committee members asked clarifying questions during the discussion.

Committee Chair asked for clarification, saying, "You said we're at the fiftieth percentile right now?" Senator Penzo replied, "No. I'm saying we're sitting at 36%." The exchange clarified that the current reimbursement level cited by the committee was about 36% of the 50th percentile and that the amendment would set the new rate at 60% of that midpoint benchmark.

Members moved to adopt the amendment; a spoken motion and a second were recorded, and the amendment was adopted. After further procedural motion, the committee voted to pass Senate Bill 347 as amended; committee members voiced approval and the chair announced that the bill "is passed as amended." No roll-call vote tallies or individual yea/nay names were recorded in the transcript.

The meeting concluded with committee members thanking staff for their work and adjourning the session.