As if the state’s elderly weren’t facing enough losses in service due to budget cuts, many learned last week of new Medicaid rule changes that could reduce funding to seniors, special needs students and people with mental and physical disabilities.

Among other reductions, the rule changes would translate into a $100 million decrease in funding for assisted living facilities for the elderly and disabled. The Bush administration argues that some of the cuts are necessary to stop what the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have called abuses of the system. However, these cuts are also intended to save money and reduce the deficit.

The proposed Medicaid cuts come on the heels of state cuts proposed by Gov. John Baldacci to meet a $95 million budget shortfall. Baldacci has proposed a $70 million cut to the Department of Health and Human Services. That includes a $762,000 reduction to home-based care for the elderly, like bathing and dressing; a $700,000 reduction to homemaker services for the elderly, like grocery shopping, laundry and housekeeping; and a $700,000 reduction to independent-living pilot projects for low-income and frail elderly.

In coming up with the proposed state cuts, Brenda Harvey, commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services, said the governor had asked her to avoid cuts to Medicaid because it serves the poorest and most vulnerable people and draws federal matching money. It appears, however, the federal government is taking care of those cuts.

The state has more than 270,000 people on Medicaid supported by a $2 billion budget. The state spends approximately $1 for every $2 spent by the federal government.

Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services say states are getting increasingly creative in the ways that they draw federal matching money. Maine, for example, has been cited by the Government Accountability Office for improper billing and has been asked to pay back $30 million – a ruling the state is appealing.

There’s no question that some states, including Maine, are probably bending Medicaid rules to their advantage. However, that doesn’t justify cuts of this magnitude, which would lead to real reductions in services for people that need the assistance.

Harvey said the cuts represent a change in philosophy away from independent and home-based care. “In the ’90s, the Medicaid program was using Medicaid funds to build a community-based system,” she said. The “risk is we’re going to be moving people back into institutionalized care.”

These are tough times for certain. With the economy almost certainly in recession, the state is struggling to meet a growing budget shortfall. The federal government is attempting to shrink the deficit, jump-start the economy and continue paying for a costly war in Iraq. None of these challenges, however, justify cutting services to the elderly, disabled and students with special needs.

Residents of Larrabee Village who will be affected by the state cuts will be taking a bus to Augusta Thursday to speak at a public hearing at 1 p.m., held by the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee, along with a Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services. Join them by attending the public hearing or contacting state legislators.

The governor has already expressed his opposition to the federal cuts. Join him by contacting members of Maine’s congressional delegation.

Brendan Moran, editor