jessica stugelmayer
  • Home
  • Writing
  • Multimedia
  • Interactive
  • About

Dunleavy: Legislature 'knowingly underfunded' Senior Benefits program ahead of suspension (For KTVA)

4/13/2019

 
​Days after an announcement that thousands of low-income seniors will not get state-paid benefits in May or June, Gov. Mike Dunleavy said legislators need to be honest with Alaskans about why it happened.

“Members of the House Majority are quite frankly, being disingenuous with Alaskans when they express shock and disappointment that the Senior Benefits program will not have enough revenue for its highest income seniors for two months," the governor said in a prepared statement Saturday. “Why? Because they knowingly underfunded it.”
The initial email from Department of Health and Social Services announcing the suspension was sent to lawmakers Thursday morning. It stated more than 4,700 individuals in the highest income tier who receive of benefits of $76 per month would not get those payments in May or June “due to insufficient funding." Seniors receiving payments of $175 and $250 per month — about 6,866 individuals according to numbers from the email — were not expected have their benefits suspended.

Members of the Alaska House of Representatives responded, some calling the stoppage "unacceptable." On Friday, 19 members of the House majority, expressed their disappointment in the decision in a letter to DHSS.

"Cutting this program suddenly with two weeks' notice is immoral and reflects poorly on our priorities as as state," they stated in the letter.

The lawmakers went further to ask two questions of the department: Why didn’t DHSS request supplemental funds to avoid the shortfall, and why wasn’t a $20 million discretionary fund used to resolve the problem?

However, in his news release Saturday the governor said the Walker administration warned lawmakers last spring that the program might be underfunded but passed the appropriation anyway.

“The House Majority needs to be honest with regard to the actions they took last year," the governor said. "They are fully aware that they chose to underfund Senior Benefits in their own budget last year under the previous Administration.”

The governor's release went on to say it was the House majority's own bill that caused the suspension.

"In fact, last year’s House Majority legislation (HB 236) reauthorizing Senior Benefits required the department to reduce or even stop payments to the highest income tier if funding was insufficient," the administration asserts in the statement.

The statute does not use the word "require." It reads:

"Sec. 47.45.301. Alaska senior benefits payment program.
(a) The Alaska senior benefits payment program is established in the Department of Health and Social Services to provide cash benefits as far as practicable under appropriations provided by law.
(b) The department shall administer the program and adopt regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) to carry out the purposes of the program.
(c) If the department estimates that appropriations for the program are insufficient to meet the demands of the program in a fiscal year, the department may reduce or eliminate the cash benefit available to recipients."

Members of the state Senate sent their own letter to DHSS on Thursday, asking how and why the shortfall occurred and if the $20 million in discretionary funds has already been used elsewhere.

Dunleavy said Saturday that DHSS officials are looking at possible options to transfer funds from another program that would not cause underfunding somewhere else.

Published on KTVA.com on April 13, 2019.
Picture

Comments are closed.
    You can read all of Jessica's writing on Muck Rack and Authory


    Archives

    August 2021
    April 2020
    December 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    March 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    November 2012


    Categories

    All
    49th State Brewing Company
    Agriculture
    Alaska
    Alaska Native
    Anchorage
    Anchorage Press
    Arctic
    Art
    Avalanche
    Baby Food
    Bambino's Baby Food
    Beer
    Bethel
    Business
    Cancer
    Community
    Courts
    Cover Story
    Crime
    CSKT
    Culture
    Diversity
    Dry January
    Editorial
    Eid
    Feature
    Flowers
    Food
    Gaming
    Glacier National Park
    Graduation
    Green Living
    Health
    Homer
    Homicide
    Honduras
    How-to
    Islam
    Italian
    Lake County
    Lake County Leader
    LGBT
    Libations
    Lifestyle
    Missoula
    Music
    News
    Outdoors
    Pablo
    Pacific Crest Trail
    Palmer
    Politics
    Polson
    PUNCH
    Rachael Ray Magazine
    Ramadan
    Recipes
    Restaurant Review
    Roller Derby
    Ronan
    Salish Kootenai College
    Sobriety
    Sports
    St. Ignatius
    Sustainability
    Travel
    Washington
    Wasilla



get in touch


  • Home
  • Writing
  • Multimedia
  • Interactive
  • About