The budget proposed by the state’s health and human services department aims to make care more affordable and accessible to those who need it, according to a Jan. 11 news release from the department.
Here is a breakdown of how the funds would be used:
- Improving services for individuals with Medicare. The state will use $213 million to improve payment options for state-funded programs and increase repayment to providers.
- Increasing behavioral health payments to match inflation. The budget will put $46 million into payments for providers to better align with cost-of-living and housing costs.
- Improving children’s behavioral healthcare. The investment will use $17 million to improve care access, quality and availability of a variety of treatment options.
- Tackling the opioid use crisis. The budget will put $7 million into the expansion and development of substance use programs through support for overdose prevention initiatives, recovery support and treatment programs and $5.4 million will be used to create substance use residential treatment centers.
More details on the proposed budget can be found here.
