Child Advocacy Alert! Oppose irresponsible House Finance budget

"Promote the health and well-being of all NH children by supporting a state budget that improves investments in children and families and state funding for a quality public education for every child" is the Foundation Priority in NH CAN's 2005 Children's Agenda.

March 25, 2005

What: House Finance Committee hearing on the proposed state budget.

When: The hearing is next Tuesday, March 29, in two sessions from 1 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. in Representatives Hall in the State House in Concord.

Action requested:

1. Testify in person Tuesday or in writing to the House Finance Committee about the damage the committee's proposed cuts will do to children and families in our communities. Letters to House Finance should be addressed to Rep. Fred King, chair, House Finance Committee, Room 210-211, Legislative Office Building, Concord, NH 03301.

2. Recruit families that will be affected by the cuts to testify to write their Representatives and tell their stories.

3. Contact the State Representatives in your district and the members of the House Finance Committee and Ways and Means Committee to tell them that balancing a state budget on the backs of vulnerable children and families is irresponsible. .

What I need to know:

The House Finance Committee has introduced its 2006-07 state budget as House Bills 1 and 2. Because the House Ways and Means Committee's revenue projections are unreasonably low, and because House members are resisting raising the cigarette tax, the Finance Committee has reduced Gov. Lynch's proposed budget by cutting services for vulnerable children and families, making those families pay more for needed services, and shifting costs onto counties, communities, care providers and families.

The Finance Committee's proposed cuts include (dollar figures represent full cuts, including state and federal funds):

• Placing none of the money from New Hampshire's tobacco settlement into the state's tobacco use prevention fund.
• Eliminating more than $5 million to reimburse hospitals for cases such as premature babies born to women who can't afford insurance.
• Saving $1 million by creating premiums to be paid by parents whose severely disabled children are covered by the Katie Beckett program.
• Saving $8.4 million by eliminating funding for psychotherapy for poor adults.
• Saving $2.3 million by reducing funding for Medicaid dental services for children.
• Saving $12 million by doubling the per-person premiums paid by poor families that get health coverage through the Healthy Kids and Medicaid programs, even those with no income.
• Saving $1 million by creating an "asset test" for families who apply for Healthy Kids coverage.
• Saving $4 million by reducing Healthy Kids outreach to uninsured children and families.
• Saving $1.2 million by eliminating 2/3 of the funding for peer support for mentally ill adults.
• Saving $2.4 million by closing the Tobey School in Concord and moving children who require special education services to the youth reformatory in Manchester.
• Saving $2.4 million by cutting staff at the Youth Detention Center.
• Saving $1.9 million by reducing rate increases for non-residential child providers from 5% and 3% during the next two years to 2.5% and 1.5%.
• Saving $2.1 million by reducing rate increases for residential child providers from the rate set by state rules to 2.5% per year.

Click here for a list of these and other top priority cuts, compiled by the NH CARES responsible budgeting network. The list, in Excel format, includes a column at far right that indicates how much the state's tobacco tax would have to be increased to fund each individual item (for example, $0.003 indicates an increase of 3/10 of one cent over the current cigarette tax, $0.014 indicates an increase of 1.4 cents over the current tax). Please call Steve Varnum at 225-2264 if you need help interpreting the chart.

Messages/talking points:

-- "I urge and expect House members to be responsible managers of the state's budget. A budget that turns its back on vulnerable children and families, that creates holes in the state's health and human services system and that passes costs down to counties, communities and families is an irresponsible budget."

-- "When you don't fund _____, this is what happens. Some cuts never heal."
Using your personal knowledge and experience, describe the long-term consequences of the above cuts -- of families who will drop out of the Healthy Kids program because of the increased premiums, of poor children who will be unable to find a dentist to treat them, of adults who don't get mental health treatment and peer support. A parent with untreated depression, for example, might not be able to care for her children who then end up in foster care, causing tremendous family pain and costing the state more than the psychological treatment would have.

-- "Shift and shaft."
Please use this language when talking about the cost-shifting elements of this budget. Example: When you don't reimburse hospitals for their emergency care of poor people, the costs are shifted onto health insurance premiums. Who gets shafted? Regular working people, who pay higher and higher rates for their health insurance. This is not responsible management -- this is shifting costs and shafting your constituents."

-- Address the underlying reason for these cuts -- the desire of House and Senate leaders to avoid creating a fair system of taxation to pay for services. If there is a tax or revenue source you feel strongly about, say so.

Gov. Lynch has proposed increasing the tobacco tax to meet the needs in the coming budget. The Children's Alliance endorses a cigarette tax increase because it will raise needed revenue while lowering NH's high rates of smoking among teens and pregnant women. The Children's Alliance opposes raising state revenue by legalizing slot machines or any other form of casino gambling.

It is important that concerned citizens make their voices heard. Thank you for Raising Your Voice for Children.