Governor Larry Hogan announced that his fiscal year 2023 budget will include historic investments in public health, including record funding for the state’s local health departments. The budget will also expand support for 50,000 low-income children and 27,000 seniors in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), while providing additional resources for food banks and nonprofit organizations.
“Our budget will make record investments in local health departments on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Governor Hogan said. “We are also providing critical relief to support underserved Marylanders and those in need, especially our seniors on fixed incomes and children in low-income families.”
Record funding for local health departments. The Governor’s budget will commit a record $75 million to local health departments as they continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the state will provide $9.4 million to help local health departments overcome funding shortfalls related to the pandemic. Overall, the Hogan administration has increased funding for local health departments by 62%.
Additional Provider Rate Increases. The Governor’s budget will commit more than $187 million to fund provider fee increases in the fields of behavioral health, developmental disabilities, Medicaid and other services. All budgets under the Hogan administration have increased rates paid to community-based behavioral health and developmental disabilities service providers.
Summer SNAP expansion for children. The Governor’s budget will commit $1.96 billion in SNAP benefits to more than 390,000 households. An additional $4.8 million is being provided to expand the summer SNAP program, 24 times above the mandated level, to provide nutritional benefits to 50,000 children in low-income families during the months they are not in school.
Enhanced SNAP benefits for seniors. The Governor’s budget will allocate an additional $6.6 million to increase the minimum monthly food supplement benefit for senior households by 33%, providing enhanced benefits for 27,000 seniors. An additional $3 million is provided to help local agencies connect eligible seniors with programs and services. The state will commit $17.8 million to reduce waiting lists for home health care programs, including $10.3 million for senior care; $5.3 million for the Assisted Living Grant for the Elderly; and $2.2 million for the Congregated Housing Services Program.
$10 million for food banks. As demand for food banks remains high, the governor’s budget will allocate $10 million to support local food banks, including the Maryland Food Bank, Capital Area Food Bank, Food and Friends and Moveable Feast. The state has prioritized food banks for relief during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing $17.5 million in federal funds since March 2020.
New Maryland Nonprofit Accelerator Program. The Governor’s budget will commit $5 million to launch the nonprofit Business Accelerator Program, which will help organizations across the state build more administrative capacity to get off the ground, operate more efficiently and leverage additional resources. This program will be administered by Maryland non-profit organizations.