Human Services seeks $30.3M net increase in BAA, cites $14.5M for nursing-home emergency relief
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Summary
The Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living asked the House Human Services committee for a $30,313,848 net increase in the Budget Adjustment Act, citing $14.5 million for Emergency Financial Relief to stabilise nursing homes and a $9.6 million FY25 carryforward tied to billing delays.
The Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living told the House Human Services committee that its Budget Adjustment Act request includes a combined net increase of $30,313,848 across all funds, largely driven by pressures in the long-term care system.
"The overview for BAA is the total net increase, all funds combined, is 30,313,848," the commissioner told the panel during the agency presentation. The package includes an internal service fund increase for the Agency of Digital Services of $312,378 and multiple program-level appropriations.
Agency officials described a $14,500,000 request for Emergency Financial Relief (EFR), a tool the department reserves for nursing homes at high risk of closure. The department said that request is lower than prior-year asks and represents part of a multi-year effort to stabilise providers.
The department also described a carryforward of roughly $9.6 million tied to three nursing-home ownership transfers and a provider billing/provider-number issue that delayed payments; staff characterized that amount as an FY25 obligation carried into the current request. "There were three nursing homes that had an ownership transfer, and there was a delay in being able to pay them, because they didn't have the proper... provider number," the commissioner said.
Officials emphasized that EFR is a narrowly targeted, eligibility-driven intervention: facilities seeking EFR face a "deep dive" into finances before funds are granted. The department said it is preparing a multi-year stabilization and sustainability plan and will provide rate-setting staff and a fuller report on grant outcomes when the formal budget submission is filed with the committee.
The hearing closed with the chair announcing a five-minute break before testimony from the Department for Children and Families.
Next steps: the department said it will file a detailed budget report with rate-setting comparisons and a summary of the LNA-type grant evaluations referenced during the hearing.