(The Center Square) – Colorado’s Joint Budget Committee voted Friday on a series of Behavioral Health Administration measures amid statewide budgetary strains.
The legislative committee waded through the trenches of state health finances as Colorado reacts to federal cuts that have taken billions of dollars out of state funds. Members largely agreed with $11 million in cuts to a $2.7 billion budget request from the Colorado Department of Human Services. The department includes the BHA and the Office of Civil and Forensic Mental Health.
A wide variety of individual budget proposals for the BHA and OCFMH were heard, with many being passed unanimously. Others were deferred for later votes.
Federal cuts to Medicaid have added pressure to the state’s already existing $1 billion budget shortfall.
“Somebody has to step in and facilitate this discussion and say, ‘Hey, folks, we need to work on this,’ ” Rep. Rick Taggart, R-Mesa County, said of the BHA and OCFMH budgets at the committee meeting. He argued that the six-person joint committee had an obligation to provide its expertise to set the budgets, despite the mounting financial problems.
The Joint Budget Committee staff knocked down the Department of Human Services’ budget request slightly to $2.69 billion. On Friday, the committee members largely agreed with the staff recommendation, which would see a $6 million decrease from last year’s budget.
The BHA was created in 2022 to be a single state agency responsible for Colorado’s behavioral health system. This includes community-based prevention, as well as recovery services for those with mental health and substance use disorders. The OCFMH provides mental health care in the state, such as pre-trial inpatient hospitalization and transitional services.
The Department of Human Services asked for a handful of small budgetary increases and new programs, which the committee largely denied, including additional contracts for private hospital beds for inpatients competency restoration.
During Friday’s meeting, the committee approved a wide variety of funding cuts, including $5.2 million from state-operated mental health transitional living homes, which had relied on Medicaid funds. Members did not discuss how much money would be left for the homes.
The issue was debated among committee members, with representatives in agreement on the need for shelter and beds, but equally concerned with the budget shortfall.
“Nobody can get better without a roof over their heads and a bed to sleep in,” said Sen. Judy Amabile. D-Boulder County.
While the budget cuts added up to a small portion of the overall budget, the committee painstakingly deliberated over the changes and left a whole host of changes on the table, to be discussed later.
