The Coalition recognizes that North Carolina has not yet experienced the full benefits of the economic recovery and will face funding shortfalls. This does not relieve the state of its responsibilities to provide support for people affected by MH/DD/SA. North Carolina must build community MH/DD/SA services and supports so that people have the opportunity to recover and to live, and will not need to rely on crisis services, emergency rooms, hospitals, and institutions. Additional reductions and continuation of the worst of these cuts will cause irrevocable harm to people with disabilities and the nature of the programs that support them. Additionally, continued reductions will further harm the economic recovery by eliminating important community-based jobs. In light of this, the Coalition has the following priorities:
- No additional reductions in MH/DD/SA or Medicaid funds for people with MH/DD/SA
- Restore $40 million dollars to IPRS which funds services and supports in communities
- No additional cuts to Medicaid and restore funding for Medicaid MH/DD/SA to 2009-2010 levels ensuring a continuum of services and supports for people including
- Taking a balanced approach to its budget shortfalls to ensure that the needs of people are met.
- Re-prioritizing budget funds spent on economic incentives including tobacco funds to offset reductions to funding for services to people with developmental disabilities, addictive disease and mental illness; community health and habilitation services are a significant part of the NC economy.
- Utilizing the community-based benefits of the Health Care Reform legislation to offset funding cuts and use revenue saved for investment in services and supports in local communities.
- Coalition members stand ready to offer proposals on how to utilize provisions of the new law.
- Making the reduction/elimination of services and supports the last resort; consider eliminating unnecessary administrative tasks that add to costs for providers, LMEs, the state, facilities, and other management. Include a mechanism to examine administrative tasks and set performance measures for appropriate administration across the system through the Secretary’s ongoing effort to reduce administrative burden.
May 25th, 2010 at 10:57 pm
My son has been adversely effected by NC’s cuts. Suffering from Schizophrenia, he made great progress with staying on medications, socialization, self care, and holding a part time job while receiving community supports. His foundational supports were pulled away before he was ready. It is difficult to find an agency who can hire qualified personnel–they cannot afford it. I had to leave my job to take care of him. He is now in the hospital for the second time since the cuts, and I am in danger of losing my home. It appears that first, NC does care for its citizens with mental illnesses, and second, the cuts have caused greater costs to both taxpayers and to families who have no choice other than to stay home with their loved one.