Texas budget cuts
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Texas health officials have retracted its plan to impose a $15 million budget cut from health and safety programs.

Officials instead chose to trim the agency's administrative budget to meet the requirements of a mandated budget reduction.

The said budget cuts were done to brace for the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission originally proposed over $132 million budget cuts to meet the mandate.

This includes the $15 million in cuts to women's health services and programs created to help low-income families and children with disabilities.

On Monday, a revised proposal was released with an announcement that these cuts would come from other budget areas.

"Since submitting its plan in June, the agency has continued to assess potential impacts of the reductions," the proposal stated.

It also noted that feedback was received from many legislative members and stakeholders.

Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, R-Lake Jackson, directed state agencies and higher education institutions to reduce their budgets by five percent.

This to lessen the economic impacts brought by the coronavirus pandemic, which has left the state of Texas with a projected $4.58 billion budget deficit.

Many state agencies involved in Texas' COVID-19 response were exempted from the said budget cuts.

Also exempted from the said budget cuts are funding for Child Protective Services and benefits delivered through Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and the foster care program.

The bulk of the Health and Human Services Commission cuts come from reducing administrative costs and through staff reductions.

The agency also intends to allow some unspent dollars to lapse and leave some unfilled positions vacant.

Health services' budget cuts would be imposed only "when further reductions to administrative funding will impact or significantly impede the faithful delivery of services."

The following agencies and programs included in the $15 million budget cuts are Child Advocacy Programs, Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services, Early Childhood Intervention Respite, Epilepsy, and Family Violence.

This also includes Hemophilia Assistance Program, Indigent Health Care Reimbursement, Local intellectual and developmental disability authorities, Mobile Stroke Unit, Umbilical Cord Bank Funding, and Women's Health.

Some lawmakers and advocates scrutinized the cuts for weakening safety net programs and questioned why funding to women's health programs was cut.

Women's health programs deliver family planning services.

Meanwhile, the agency's Alternatives to Abortion Program did not see a budget reduction.

Some lawmakers who objected against the budget cuts, including members of the newly-formed Texas Women's Health Caucus at the Legislature, praised the initial plan's retraction.

However, Stephanie Rubin, head of Austin-based Texans Care for Children, said that the proposal poses a risk to children and families.

"If the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the House decide to move forward with this proposal, it would create delays for kids who need to sign up for Medicaid insurance so they can see a doctor and delays for moms who need to sign up for the Healthy Texas Women program," Rubin was quoted in a report.

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