Republican lawmakers on Louisiana’s House budget committee are bristling at spending increases in the state health department, saying the agency can’t keep growing every year.
As The Associated Press reports, Baton Rouge Republican Rep. Rick Edmonds called the growth in health care spending “astonishing.” Meanwhile, Rep. Tony Bacala, a Republican from Prairieville, said state spending on the health department exceeds all state sales tax collections.
Health Secretary Rebekah Gee, though, pushed back against the criticism today. She said her agency has saved the state money this year and will again next year because Louisiana expanded its Medicaid program and took advantage of the expansion’s available federal financing.
But Gee also said poverty-ridden Louisiana has health care needs and the cost of providing such services is rising.
Also today, the state’s social services agency asked for a sizable jump in next year’s budget, largely to deal with child welfare cases that the department’s secretary said are overwhelming workers.
Children and Family Services Secretary Marketa Garner Walters told the House Appropriations Committee the state couldn’t serve children and families well without additional funds.
The department has experienced repeated cuts since 2009, slashing its budget in half.
Walters said those cuts have hampered the agency’s response to child neglect and child abuse, doubling caseloads and chasing away employees.
The department asked for a $99 million increase in the upcoming 2017-18 budget, a 14% increase.
