By Lynn Hatter
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-996638.mp3
Tallahassee, FL – The Florida Agency for Persons with Disabilities is tying its hopes of a balanced budget to giving families flexible spending authority in exchange for lower allocations. Lynn Hatter reports there have been problems in the testing phase of the state's new iBudget system, and agency leaders are hoping to iron those kinks to get the program up and running before lawmakers start slashing budgets.
Under the iBudget, two-thirds of people with disabilities on Medicaid would see their funding fall. And Agency Director Mike Hansen says in many of those cases the algorithm that calculates the payments doesn't give enough money to help families meet their basic needs.
"We're trying to figure out a method to only give people what they need in their cost plan."
The Agency's path to budget stability is rocky. It has a $10.5 million deficit for the 2010-11 fiscal year and is trying to find tens of millions of dollars in savings to balance the current year's budget. It faces the possibility of lawsuits if benefits are cut too severely, and is under pressure from lawmakers to get the budget under control.