Idaho Health and Welfare Department Reduces Some Services To Address State Budget Cuts

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, the state's second-largest department, will make the largest cuts of any state agency under the $26.5 million in budget reductions that Gov. Dirk Kempthorne (R) authorized last week, the Spokane Spokesman-Review reports. People with mental illnesses and low-income people will "bear the brunt" of the cuts, according to the Spokesman-Review. Funding for "sheltered workshops," which provide jobs in the community for people with developmental disabilities, will be cut by one-third, and Medicaid eligibility requirements for people with developmental disabilities will be "tighten[ed]." According to the Spokesman-Review, support services for people with mental illnesses will be "reduced." In November, the Department of Health and Welfare intends to cut Medicaid reimbursement rates to hospitals by 3.5%, the first such cut in over six years. According to the Spokesman-Review, hospitals "face ... losses" in obstetrics and emergency departments, among others (Drumheller, Spokane Spokesman-Review, 9/27).