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DSS commissioner outlines positions on Medicaid mileage, long‑term care rebalancing and budgeted requests
Summary
Commissioner Andrea Barton Reeves told the Human Services Committee the Department of Social Services supports modernizing ambulance mileage reimbursement (SB429) and rebalancing long‑term services but opposed provisions that would expand eligibility or benefits without funding (SB432, parts of HB5480/HB5482). She asked for time and collaboration on cost and implementation questions.
Andrea Barton Reeves, commissioner of the Department of Social Services, opened the Human Services Committee hearing with a single, extended set of remarks on multiple bills on the committee’s agenda. She told lawmakers the department supports updating Medicaid ambulance mileage to reflect modern GPS distances (SB429), which would align reimbursement with actual travel without adding net cost.
Reeves said the department values long‑term services and supports rebalancing Medicaid toward home‑and‑community‑based care (SB433) and noted ongoing federal work (Money Follows the Person) that informs state strategy. At the same time, she cautioned the committee that several proposals would expand eligibility or add benefits not funded in the governor’s budget. As examples she said that requiring DSS to disregard the cash surrender value of life insurance for eligibility (SB432) or mandating new Medicaid‑funded peer‑support programs (HB5480) would increase costs that are not in the baseline appropriation; for that reason the department cannot support those provisions without offsetting resources.
On peer supports and community health workers, Reeves described a preference for value‑based payment approaches rather than straight fee‑for‑service, and said the department has begun limited work using emergency HR1 funds to pilot community health workers to help people affected by SNAP and Medicaid changes. She estimated the emergency fund commitment for the pilot at roughly $4 million and said further expansion will depend on budget availability.
Reeves repeatedly invited more detailed negotiation: where the department cannot support an item “as written” for fiscal reasons, she urged legislators and proponents to work with staff to explore alternatives, study windows, or phased implementation approaches. The commissioner ended her verbal testimony by noting the department had filed fuller written testimony for the remaining bills and welcomed questions from committee members.
The exchange that followed mapped the main fault lines for the rest of the hearing: advocates and fellow agencies urged more state support for peer workers, community health workers, long‑term care rebalancing and diaper access; the department repeatedly raised the same practical point—policy is constrained by available appropriations and federal matching rules—so lawmakers will need to weigh service expansions against budget realities.
Sources: verbal testimony and later Q&A from the Human Services Committee public hearing, March 10, 2026. The department’s remarks begin at SEG 011 and run through SEG 304.
