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House budget proposal risks
future health care funding, says Bailey
A $26 billion state budget
approved by the House of Representatives late Friday night puts
long-term funding of health care at risk, says
Rep. Barbara Bailey,
ranking Republican on the House Health Care Committee.
The measure, Senate Bill
6090, passed along party lines, 55-41. It increases spending by 12
percent above the current two-year spending level, using a half-billion
dollars in new taxes to cover new spending.
Bailey said in order for
lawmakers to circumvent the state’s spending limit law, the budget
shifts $109 million away from Washington’s Health Services Account,
which is used to provide health care for low-income families, senior
citizens and the state’s most vulnerable residents.
"There’s some real fuzzy math being used with this account. First, the
supplemental budget to cover the remaining four months of this biennium
transferred $45 million into the Health Services Account without any
explanation. Now this new budget transfers $109 million out of this
account with very little explanation," said Bailey, R-Oak Harbor.
"This is playing with
money dedicated for the Basic Health Plan, Medicaid for children,
immunizations and a whole list of health services for our state’s most
needy.
"If this budget goes forward, it will bring this fund down too low.
What’s more troublesome is that in 2008, the Health Services Account
will be in a deficit of $38 million. And in 2009, we’ll have a deficit
of $144 million," added Bailey. "This is simply not sustainable."
Bailey offered an amendment to prevent money from being transferred from
the Health Services Account into the state’s general fund. The amendment
was rejected along party lines.
"The taxpayers of the
state rely on us to offer good, honest reporting of the way we do
business here. However, this is not a transparent budget," said Bailey.
"This budget plays shell games with the Health Services Account and the
losers are the recipients of those services."
Bailey also noted that
with projected revenues $1.65 billion higher than the current budget,
tax increases are unnecessary and will likely hurt a fragile economy
which is barely beginning to recover.
"This budget is
unsustainable and shifts away from priorities in government. Without tax
increases, we will still have a 7 percent increase in additional
revenue. Most businesses and working families would think it was great
if their incomes could grow as fast," said Bailey. "This budget has all
the wrong priorities. That’s why I couldn’t support it."
The measure now goes back
to the Senate where a conference committee will be created to work out
the final details.
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For more information, contact:
John
Handy, Assistant Director: (360) 786-5758
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