House Prevents Cuts to Disability Programs

The South Carolina House has found a way to prevent cuts to health and medical programs, including funds for the disabled. But the plan relies on extra money being provided from Congress.

The House voted 96-6 Monday afternoon to use about $174 million in federal Medicaid money to restore cuts to the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, a prescription drug program and other health programs.

Disabled residents and their families traveled to the Statehouse Monday to lobby against the cuts, which would have closed day programs at the Charles Lea Center in Spartanburg.

Malia Davis, an employee at the Charles Lea Center, says of the proposed cuts, "You're talking virtually all of our services gone except for those folks that are in residential supports."

Jerry Hines, who has learned job skills and gotten a job through the center, said before heading into the Statehouse, "If I get to talk to the lawmakers, I'll tell them we don't want our budget cut and we would like to keep the day program going on." 

Once inside, the spoke to some of the House members then went into the House gallery to watch what happened.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Cooper told the House the extra money still has to be approved in Washington, but it’s been passed by the U.S. House and Senate in separate bills so it looks likely.

The extra money comes from increasing the amount of federal Medicaid matching money provided, raising it to a four-to-one match from the current three-to-one.

"What this basically does is put most of the agencies that were getting large cuts under health care back to where they are at the current level," Rep. Cooper told House members.

The House also needed to clean up a procedural error the Ways & Means Committee made when writing the budget. Cooper told House members, "There's $22 million in one-time money for DDSN which was put on the wrong line in committee that prevents them from drawing down $110 million in federal match. We're going to move that over. That would allow them to draw their $110 million in match down from the federal government."

While the money isn't definitely coming from Washington, it's also not definitely in the budget. The full House still has to pass the budget later this week and then it goes to the state Senate.

But Rep. Lanny Littlejohn, R-Pacolet, a member of the House budget writing committee, says, "I don't see anyone taking this money and using it on something else. It's match money so it's kind of locked in. But I think they'll be fully funded."