In The Denver Post, reporter Nick Coltrain covers the chilly reception Gov. Jared Polis got when he pitched his budget to the Joint Budget Committee. Coltrain reports the plan leans on restraining Medicaid growth and reviving a Pinnacol Assurance privatization to close a roughly $1 billion gap. The author is Nick Coltrain.
According to the piece, Medicaid is more than a third of the $18.6 billion general fund. Polis proposes 5.6 percent growth, about $300 million, while warning that nearly 12 percent would be needed to maintain the same services. The plan caps dental benefits and rolls back some provider rate increases. JBC vice chair Jeff Bridges called the cuts particularly large. Chair Emily Sirota said the proposal balances the budget on the backs of workers and business owners. Lawmakers from both parties were cool to spinning off Pinnacol, which the governor pegs at about $400 million, and a 2009 state memo is cited that questions whether the state could take cash from a full privatization. JBC staff chief Craig Harper warned that, without structural changes, lawmakers will be back here next year cutting another $1 billion.
The Bullet Point Brief
• Medicaid squeeze. Polis allows 5.6 percent growth, far below the near 12 percent needed to hold services steady. Caps on dental and lower provider rates do the lifting.
• Pinnacol piggy bank. The administration floats a $400 million spin-off. Lawmakers doubt the math and the legality. The 2009 memo looms.
• Bipartisan side-eye. Bridges calls the cuts large. Sirota says it balances on the backs of workers and business owners. Cool reception all around.
• Structural warning lights. JBC staff says the current path sets up the same $1 billion shortfall next year. Kicking cans does not cure gaps.
• Everything else gets squeezed. Without changes, Medicaid growth crowds out roads, public safety, and agriculture. That is the trade on the table.
My Bottom Line
This is not a serious roadmap. It is a crisis of priorities dressed up as a plan. On paper there is balance. In reality the proposal punts hard choices to the JBC, raids Medicaid services, and leans on a shaky Pinnacol cash grab that may not even materialize.
Coloradans deserve a budget that funds core duties first. Public safety. Roads. Schools that work. A safety net that is sustainable and focused on outcomes. JBC should rewrite this thing from top to bottom and send back a budget that fits the times and respects taxpayers. Passing the buck is not leadership. Fixing the math is.
Source: The Denver Post
