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Fiscal Year 2001
Budget - Chapter 159 of the Acts of 2000
* Prescription Drugs - The
budget offers an expansive and groundbreaking prescription drug
insurance program open to all seniors over 65 who are either disabled
individuals or live at or below 188% of the federal poverty level. The
program guarantees an unlimited prescription drug benefit.
Premiums are charged on a sliding scale based on income.
* Education - The budget provides an additional $187 million in
chapter 70 direct aid to schools, an additional $20 million for MCAS
remediation grants (for a total of $40 million), and $18 million to
reduce
grade K through 3 class sizes. The budget also contains a $64 million
increase for higher education, which includes $10 million for university
endowments, which helps the state attract high caliber individuals.
Finally, support for the construction of schools is preserved through a
recommendation of $55 million to launch new projects.
* Special Education - The budget changes special education by
tightening eligibility requirements, moving from the state standard of
"maximum feasible benefit" to the federal standard of
"free and appropriate education" and allowing independent
evaluations for families only up to 400% of the federal poverty
level. A special education cost-sharing program between the state
and local school districts is also implemented.
* School Building Assistance - The budget revamps the SBAB
program by changing the funding formula to reflect factors like property
value, per capital income and poverty level. The fund will now
also pay for school renovation and reconstruction as well as new
building construction.
* Medicaid Relief �
Due to the losses many of the hospitals have suffered as a result of
federal cutbacks, we appropriated $95 million to help protect these
vital institutions. A $4 million increase for Community Health Centers�
Medicaid reimbursement rates is designed to encourage centers to remain
open longer hours was enacted. To address the alarming scarcity of
dentists available to MassHealth clients, we allocated $19.4 million to
increase Medicaid rates for dental services by approximately 30 percent.
$3.1 million will also be spent to implement dental programs in nine
community health centers. In an effort to assist consumers in locating
and accessing pharmaceutical companies that offer reduced or no-cost
drug programs, we provided $250,000 to establish the Pharmacy Outreach
Program.
* Nursing Home Staff - We allocated a $35 million wage increase
to certified nursing aides providing critical care in nursing home, as
well as $2 million to fund CNA scholarships and training programs. We
also appropriated funds for surveying nursing homes and creating an
advisory council to study the quality of care in nursing homes.
* Affordable Housing � We included $100 million for the
Affordable Housing Trust to provide crucial funding for the creation of
new housing. Additionally, we appropriated $900,000 to expand the
Supportive Housing program, providing supportive services around the
clock, on an as needed basis to seniors in public housing complexes.
Tax Cuts
* The budget contains a tax
deduction for charitable giving that
allows taxpayers to deduct up to 50% of their donations to charitable
organizations. This will save taxpayers an estimated $164 million
annually.
* The budget freezes the gas tax at 21 cents per gallon.
* The budget grants surviving spouses of disabled veterans the same
property tax relief that they were entitled to when their spouse was
alive
.
