{"id":8674,"date":"2026-02-10T05:55:32","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T11:55:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/10\/missouri-lawmakers-scour-for-savings-to-shield-disability-health-programs-from-cuts\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T05:55:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T11:55:32","slug":"missouri-lawmakers-scour-for-savings-to-shield-disability-health-programs-from-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/10\/missouri-lawmakers-scour-for-savings-to-shield-disability-health-programs-from-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"Missouri lawmakers scour for savings to shield disability, health programs from cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Director Sarah Willson addresses the House Budget Committee on Monday (Steph Quinn\/Missouri Independent).<\/p>\n

Missouri lawmakers scrounged for unspent or underutilized funds that could be cut from next year\u2019s budget Monday, vowing to protect programs they said are vital to the health of Missourians.<\/span><\/p>\n

Republican state Rep. Darin Chappell of Rogersville vowed during a presentation of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to minimize <\/span>proposed cuts to two programs<\/span><\/a> designed to help Missourians with developmental disabilities live safely in their homes and participate actively in their communities, avoiding costly and isolating institutionalization.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going after every shred of fat and wastefulness everywhere it can be found before I have to tell someone whose life depends upon us that we don\u2019t have any money,\u201d said Chappell, who is chair of the budget subcommittee covering health, senior services, mental health and social services.<\/span><\/p>\n

The proposed cuts to disability services would apply to the state\u2019s Department of Mental Health. Even though Mental Health Director Valerie Huhn won\u2019t testify before the House Budget Committee until Tuesday, the presence of the recommendations shaped the Monday hearing, with lawmakers referring to messages they received from concerned constituents and advocates.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf we didn\u2019t get an email about anything else, we got an email about this particular budget,\u201d said Democratic state Rep. Raychel Proudie of Ferguson, referring to the <\/span>mental health budget<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gov. Mike Kehoe\u2019s proposed budget for fiscal year 2027 recommends a $17.5 million funding reduction for self-directed supports, which lets people with disabilities or their families hire, train and manage their own care staff. Another recommendation would cut $61.7 million from providers of structured group programs called day habilitation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lawmakers in Monday\u2019s hearing also questioned proposed cuts to substance use disorder prevention and treatment grants in the <\/span>health and senior services budget<\/span><\/a>. Kehoe\u2019s recommended budget would eliminate $500,000 in grants for the use of medication-assisted treatment as part of the state\u2019s drug and DWI courts. The recommendations would also cut $350,000 for drug use resistance education in schools.<\/span><\/p>\n

Republican state Rep. John Black of Marshfield, the vice-chair of the subcommittee, said lawmakers would resist cuts to grants aimed at reducing harms of tobacco and drug use.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that the grants to the programs, to the providers that are providing prevention and treatment for persons with [substance use disorders] in fact save the state money,\u201d Black said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The budget proposal would slash $300,000 from youth tobacco use prevention initiatives. While the fiscal year 2026 budget allocated $2.5 million to services to help Missourians quit tobacco and nicotine products, including phone and online coaching programs, recommendations for fiscal year 2027 allot only $100,000.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s almost like the state makes money off the sale of those things,\u201d Chappell said.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n

\u2018Budget calamity\u2019<\/h4>\n

\t<\/p>\n

Buoyed by what Chappell described as the state\u2019s \u201cbudget calamity,\u201d committee members looked for any parts of the budget where lawmakers had appropriated more than state agencies used.<\/span><\/p>\n

The state faces <\/span>declining revenues<\/span><\/a> and a <\/span>shrinking surplus<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chappell asked representatives of the state\u2019s health department to commit to spending federal and other sources of funding before dipping into the state\u2019s general revenue.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCan you all make that commitment yet?\u201d he asked. \u201cYes is the word you\u2019re looking for, by the way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Health and Senior Services Director Sarah Willson told lawmakers that Missouri spends only about <\/span>$7 per person on public health<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about the price of a specialty coffee or drink,\u201d Willson said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Democratic state Rep. Betsy Fogle of Springfield asked why the department has left funds unspent for certain budget items despite claims that public health is underfunded in Missouri.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fogle gave the example of between $52 million and $65 million in unspent federal funds each year between fiscal years 2023 and 2025 for services related to HIV, sexually transmitted infections and hepatitis.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lori Brenneke, director of the department\u2019s Division of Community and Public Health, explained that the department requests spending authority without knowing ahead of time how many people will need services.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brenneke said changes to Medicaid eligibility could increase caseloads for one of the <\/span>programs<\/span><\/a> in that budget line, which provides support for low-income people living with HIV.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Medicaid expansion occurred, we\u2019ve seen a lot of individuals move from the program to Medicaid,\u201d Brenneke said. \u201cWe may see some shifting back from that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The department is proposing to reduce its budget authority by $10 million.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShould we be coming down more than $10 million?\u201d Fogle asked. \u201c\u2026Just to have the budget a little more accurately reflect our spend.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Chappell said that \u201cright sizing the budget\u201d would not wipe out the need to make painful budget cuts to programs like disability care services.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot promise that those will suffer no loss whatsoever,\u201d he said. \u201cBut what I can promise you is that it is my intention to wring every last penny out of every place else before those cuts have to be made.\u201d<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Director Sarah Willson addresses the House Budget Committee on Monday (Steph Quinn\/Missouri Independent). Missouri lawmakers scrounged for unspent or underutilized funds that could be cut from next year\u2019s budget Monday, vowing to protect programs they said are vital to the health of Missourians. Republican state Rep. Darin Chappell…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8675,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nMissouri lawmakers scour for savings to shield disability, health programs from cuts - WestplexNews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/10\/missouri-lawmakers-scour-for-savings-to-shield-disability-health-programs-from-cuts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Missouri lawmakers scour for savings to shield disability, health programs from cuts - WestplexNews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Director Sarah Willson addresses the House Budget Committee on Monday (Steph Quinn\/Missouri Independent). Missouri lawmakers scrounged for unspent or underutilized funds that could be cut from next year\u2019s budget Monday, vowing to protect programs they said are vital to the health of Missourians. Republican state Rep. 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