Archive

This updated report examines state budget cuts since the onset of the current economic downturn. It builds on our prior edition published in April (which included cuts up through the Governor’s FY 2012 budget proposal) and compares changes in major categories of state spending between FY 2009 and FY 2012. It documents deep cuts in early education, public health, and other programs that directly affect the lives of children and adults across the commonwealth.

This Budget Brief describing the Fiscal Year 2012 (FY 2012) budget for MassHealth (Medicaid) and other related health care programs is the last in a series of fact sheets published by the Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute(MMPI) and produced by MassBudget in partnership with the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. These fact sheets have been published at each stage in the FY 2012 budget process; this fact sheet summarizes the enacted budget for FY 2012.

The FY 2012 budget includes deep cuts in a number of areas including $24 million from the Judiciary (including probation) and over $60 million in public higher education. The final version of the budget also includes $460 million less in local aid in FY 2012 than in the original FY 2009 budget, after accounting for inflation.

This Budget Brief on the House and Senate proposals for MassHealth and related health care programs is the fifth in a new series published by the Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute and produced by MassBudget in partnership with the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. These fact sheets will be published at each stage of the budget process, examining and explaining the proposals put forth by the Governor, the House, and the Senate.

With House and Senate budget debate complete, conferees from the two branches are now meeting to resolve differences. The Conference Committee is expected to craft a budget that both branches can approve in time for the Governor to sign it, and veto those sections he disapproves of, before Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 begins on July 1st. This Budget Monitor describes the final Senate budget, including floor amendments, and describes the major differences between the House and Senate in each area of the budget.

This Budget Brief on the Senate Ways and Means proposals for MassHealth and related health care programs is the fourth in a new series published by the Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute and produced by MassBudget in partnership with the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. These fact sheets will be published at each stage of the budget process, examining and explaining the proposals put forth by the Governor, the House, and the Senate

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 Senate Ways and Means (SWM) budget proposal shares a basic structure with the proposals from the Governor and House. All three rely primarily on budget cuts and reform initiatives to close the $1.9 billion gap between the revenues expected to be available and the cost of providing current services.

This Budget Brief on the House proposals for MassHealth and related health care programs is the third in a new series published by the Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute and produced by MassBudget in partnership with the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. These fact sheets will be published at each stage of the budget process, examining and explaining the proposals put forth by the Governor, the House, and the Senate.

The final budget approved by the House of Representatives for Fiscal Year 2012 includes modestly more funding than recommended by the House Ways & Means Committee in several areas, but largely follows the HWM proposal in implanting deep cuts across state government.

This Budget Brief on the House Ways & Means proposals for MassHealth and related health care programs is the second in a new series being published by the Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute and produced by MassBudget in partnership with the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. These fact sheets will be published at each stage of the budget process, examining and explaining the proposals put forth by the Governor, the House, and the Senate.

The House Ways & Means (HWM) budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2012, like the Governor’s proposal, relies primarily on budget cuts and savings to close a $1.9 billion gap between the cost for maintaining current services and the revenue expected to be available in FY 2012. The HWM budget cuts somewhat more deeply than the Governor’s proposal in health care accounts, most significantly by eliminating the Commonwealth Care Bridge program that provides health insurance to close to 20,000 legal immigrants.

Proposed legislation (H.R. 1) that funds the federal government through the final six months of Fiscal Year 2011 (FY 2011) cuts funding for non-security discretionary programs by $66 billion, or an average of 14.3 percent. Economists warn that these reductions in federal spending, including grants to states, could increase unemployment and weaken the national economy in the short-term. They will also significantly decrease funding for programs that invest in our state’s long-term economic health and in the well-being of our residents.

This Budget Brief on the Governor’s proposals for MassHealth and related health care programs is the first in a new series being published by the Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute and produced by MassBudget in partnership with the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. These fact sheets will be published at each stage of the budget process, examining and explaining the proposals put forth by the Governor, the House, and the Senate.

In the coming fiscal year (Fiscal Year 2012) the state is facing a budget gap of approximately $1.9 billion between the cost of providing current services and the revenue projected to be available. The Governor’s budget (House 1) proposes closing this gap with a combination of deep cuts, significant reforms, limited use of reserve funds and other temporary revenues, and modest revenue initiatives.

This Budget Brief examines the condition of state finances as the budget process begins for the fiscal year that starts on July 1, 2011. Walking readers through the steps involved in calculating a state budget gap, the brief projects a $1.78 billion preliminary budget gap facing the Commonwealth in FY 2012.