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Committee reviews benefit‑assister funding and a Health Care Advocate base increase
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Summary
Committee considered a $5 million request for benefit assisters to support Medicaid and SNAP enrollment and a $450,000 base increase request for the Office of the Health Care Advocate; Mike Fisher said the office’s base is about $2.0M and that funding comes from multiple sources including industry bill‑backs and a small Medicaid match.
The committee reviewed administrative support requests including a $5 million proposal to fund benefit assisters who would help with Medicaid enrollment, re‑enrollment and SNAP eligibility and a $450,000 request to increase the Office of the Health Care Advocate’s (HCA) base budget.
Speaker 1 described benefit assisters as staff who would be certified by the Department for Medicaid ("Diva") to provide enrollment assistance and work with community organizations such as 2‑1‑1 and Language Justice Project. Committee members asked whether the $5 million is a one‑time bridge or a base increase; staff and advocates said much of the training and certification is front‑loaded but outcomes would inform future base funding needs.
Mike Fisher, identified in the transcript as Health Care Advocate, told the committee the HCA base had been $2,000,406 and that roughly 27.5% of the office’s funding is general fund while the remainder comes from industry bill‑backs and other sources; he noted some funding is Medicaid matched and that administrators would need to determine cost allocation to identify what portion of any new dollars could trigger federal match.
Committee members asked staff to return with a clear breakdown of proposed hires, duties, and what portion of any appropriation could be billed to Medicaid or other sources before the committee finalizes its priority rankings.
