By Kathy White

According to a new analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the budget resolution developed by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives makes deep cuts in federal support for health care and other services that the state of Colorado and local communities provide. This cost shift to states will force local communities to eliminate or reduce services and threaten the economic recovery just taking hold in Colorado.

Estimated Cuts of 20.1 Percent to Grants to Colorado in 2014
$334 Million

Estimated Cuts to Colorado over 2014-2023 Under the Ryan Budget
$3.3 Billion

The Ryan budget dramatically cuts Medicaid funding. The Ryan budget would repeal the Medicaid expansion under health reform and cut federal funding for the program by another 31 percent by 2023. The budget block grants Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Plan and restricts growth in funding to below projected growth over the next 10 years, ensuring year-after-year cuts in health care services for struggling Coloradans.

The Ryan budget proposes deep cuts in discretionary funding, 20 percent below cuts already included in the Budget Control Act. These cuts will result in major reductions in high-priority services like transportation, early childhood education, special education, housing assistance, rental assistance for low-income people, energy assistance, nutrition support for expecting mothers and young children, mental health and substance abuse services, community health centers, workforce development and public safety.

The Ryan budget contains cuts far worse than sequestration reductions. Sequestration cuts to affected programs are expected to be 7.3 percent, on average, in 2014, including most discretionary grants to states and localities. These cuts, which went into effect this month, and are set to continue for nine years, will gradually decline.

Leachman, Michael, Richard Kogan, Vincent Palacios and Kelsey Merrick, “Ryan Budget Would Shift Substantial Costs
to States and Localities.” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, March 27, 2013.