COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis released his next-year budget proposal earlier this week, with Medicaid programs once again on the chopping block.
The founder of Impacted Caregivers of Colorado says the November 1 proposal is just the beginning — She says this is the calm before the storm.
In the budget proposal, Gov. Polis writes: "Failing to act would allow Medicaid to consume an ever-growing share of the state budget, crowding out funding for education, public safety and corrections, housing, and other critical services year after year."
Without action, Medicaid expenditures are projected to reach $6.9 billion, which nearly doubles the spending from five years earlier. The program currently consumes about 38% of the state's general fund.
Victoria Moul is usually behind the scenes, but as founder of Impacted Caregivers of Colorado, she says the Nov. 1 proposal feels familiar.
"I have watched Polis for a while now, and Polis will put out a budget, and he'll say, this is what this budget is going to look like. But then, there tend to be surprises later," Moul said.
She describes the proposal as "filler" and said this is only the beginning.
"People are full of anxiety and stuff, but it's not a detriment right now because we don't see those players on the table," Moul said.
Her message to families is simple.
"Just breathe. The cuts are gonna be ugly. They're not gonna be family-friendly. And they're going to scare us. But just breathe," Moul said.
Moul and other parent caregivers are still expecting more cuts to be announced.
One thing she expects to see get cut is the Community First Choice program. CFC allows the state to provide certain home and community-based services to eligible Medicaid members, including personal care services and homemaker services.
The second change on Moul's mind is the Electronic Visit Verification, or EVV. Live-in family caregivers say removing this would require them to stop during a medical emergency to log into a tracking app, or provide immediate care and risk not getting paid.
The proposal would eliminate the live-in caregiver exemption from Electronic Visit Verification, or EVV — a system used to document what Medicaid services a caregiver is providing and when. The EVV system is also how caregivers track their hours in order to be paid.
Unsustainable Medicaid growth remains a concern for the state a year later.
If Medicaid spending were to continue at its current pace, there would be no General Fund spending available for any other parts of state government besides education within fifteen years. A sustainable Medicaid program is essential not only to preserving health care for the Coloradans who rely upon it, but also to maintaining our ability to invest in the other priorities that expand opportunity across our state.
And with a new Governor soon to take office, Moul said she hopes things will change when it comes to Medicaid cuts. She held a town hall with Phil Weiser back in June.
"We asked him a similar question and his answer to us, and I can't quote it verbatim, but I do know what he said was, nothing for sure is ever set in stone and something that may have been done can be undone if it is seen to be a problem. I would say a problem," Moul said, "When we said, well, what if they initiate these cuts before you come in? And he's like, nothing is ever set in stone and things can be undone."
Gov. Polis is scheduled to speak to the Joint Budget Committee on November 12 to present and detail his budget proposal.
