Yesterday, Governor Perdue signed the FY08 budget that included funding to unlock the waiting lists for supports for 1,546 unduplicated persons with disabilities. However, he took exception to the language introduced by the Senate to ensure that at least 1,546 people are served with this money. We had questions about the average costs the Senate used to develop this language and after voicing this concern to the Senate and House leadership, decided to leave it to their judgment. In conference committee, they decided to include the Senate language without additional dollars. The Governor's reaction is below...
Non-Binding Purpose Language to Disregard
Section 27, pertaining to the Department of Human Resources, page 128 and 134, items 180.7, 180.8, and 187.6:
The General Assembly seeks to instruct the Department as to the net increase in the unduplicated count of recipients in the Mental Retardation Waiver Program in the Adult Development Disabilities Service program and the Child and Adolescent Development Disabilities program. Although this language is for information purposes only, it gives the appearance of meeting additional needs without the necessary funds being appropriated. Therefore, this language is stricken due to lack of adequate funding and the attempt to dictate a matter within the general law powers of the Department.
The Governor also vetoed two bills that are relevant to disability issues. The first, SR363, would create a commission to study Mental Health and Disability issues in a commission. He vetoed this bill so that he could create a commission with a broader scope under a executive order. The second is a bill that would have tried to reduce the paperwork related to requirements for basic therapy services for children with disabilities. We felt that this was a good bill and are disappointed to see it vetoed.
SR 363 establishes a commission to study and offer recommendations on the delivery of mental health services. The Commission includes members from the legislative and judicial branches and citizen members. Because any changes would be implemented by the executive branch, appropriate representation from the executive branch should be included for an effective study. For this reason, I will sign an executive order calling for a commission, including those persons described in SR 363 and representatives of the executive branch, to review the matters addressed in SR 363. Because my executive order will provide a more inclusive process, I VETO SR 363.
HB 549 seeks to amend prior authorization requirements for recipients of Medicaid funded services. The proposed changes inadvertently conflict with federal mandates on Medicaid services. Specifically, HB 549 would restrict the State’s ability to conduct appropriate prior authorization review as required by federal regulations (CFR 433.15(b)(7)). Federal regulators have also indicated an objection to the establishment of different standards for recipients based on a general categorization of their condition rather than based on an individual’s specific medical needs and likely rehabilitation and recovery (CFR 440.240). For these reasons, federal approval of the changes mandated by HB 549 is not expected. The timeliness of these services, particularly to this constituency is important. I am, therefore, directing the Department of Community Health to continue its efforts to provide for a more streamlined preauthorization process so as not to unduly burden the practitioners and patients this bill seeks to assist. I therefore VETO HB 549.
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