Heard in the Halls is an email service of NAMI North Carolina to provide updates on state legislative and policy issues. Heard in the Halls is produced for community advocates at least monthly and more frequently during sessions of the General Assembly. To be added to the Heard in the Halls list send a message to heard@naminc.org with just "subscribe" (no quotes) in the subject header. Because of the variety of e-mail servers, Heard in the Halls is sent in plain text and as a formatted attachment. Previous issues of Heard in the Halls can be viewed a www.naminc.org

3-7-03

Governor Easley released a $15 billion state budget on Wednesday. According to the Governor, "Three principles guided us in developing this budget. I wanted to maintain our commitment to stimulate the economy, make progress in education, and reduce the size of government." The Governor proposed no new taxes and $836 million in reductions toward a "leaner, more efficient government". The Department of Health and Human Services took $326 million in cuts. $253 million comes from Medicaid, primarily by eliminating the yearly inflationary increase in rates paid to providers.

MH/DD/SA community programs received a $20 million cut, a 6.3% reduction. In her presentation to legislators, DHHS Secretary Hooker Odom described the cut as difficult but "manageable" due to increases in Medicaid revenues.

It is distressing that cuts to the community system continue to be viewed as acceptable. In the midst of reform, when all available resources are needed to develop critical services, any loss of funding is unacceptable. Since the majority of individuals in the MH/DD/SA community system are not Medicaid eligible, increasing Medicaid revenues does little to support these individuals or address the waiting list for services.

As the budget moves to the legislative appropriations committees we will be working with legislators to significantly reduce or eliminate this cut.

The Governor’s proposed budget does include new spending of $546 million, primarily in education. $10 million in one time funding for the MH/DD/SA Trust fund was included. Other expansion items were NC Health Choice, expanded to cover up to 105,000 children, More at Four, school nurses, class size reduction, and teacher and state employee pay increases. You can view the Governor’s budget at http://www.osbm.state.nc.us/osbm/bgt0305.html

The 2002 NAMI North Carolina Annual Spring Conference "Building a System for Recovery" will be held April 25-26 at the North Raleigh Hilton. For program and registration information go to:

http://www.naminc.org/conference3.htm

The North Carolina Client Rights Conference "Building a Partnership for Rights Protection and Advocacy" will be held May 9-10 at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Research Triangle Park. For program information and registration go to: http://www.dhhs.state.nc.us/mhddsas/advocacy/client-rights-conf-br03.pdf