Budget Overview
On Wednesday, April 16, the House Ways and Means Committee unveiled its Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) budget proposal. The House Ways and Means proposal is the second step in the budget process, following the Governor’s version (H2) which was released in January. As this year’s budget process continues, this proposal reflects the ongoing challenges of fiscal constraint amid continued uncertainty and looming federal cuts.
In advance of this proposal being released, we met with House Ways and Means leadership to ensure that our community’s priorities were included. That advocacy was needed and did make an impact, though there are also areas where we will need to continue to advocate.
Department of Developmental Services (DDS) Budget
Our analysis shows that most Department of Developmental Services (DDS) line items were funded at the same levels as the Governor’s H2 proposal, which mostly were level-funded from FY26. See our analysis of the Governor’s proposal for more information.
Although both the Governor’s proposal and the House Ways and Means proposal generally reflect a commitment to stability during a challenging fiscal year, level funding does not fully address the rising demand for services across the community. This is an area where education and advocacy will be needed in future budget cycles.
Importantly, the DESE-DDS Residential Placement Prevention Program line-item was fully funded at $10.5 million in the House Ways and Means proposal. We are working on an amendment to increase funding to serve more families.
MassHealth Budget
The House Ways and Means proposal continues the across-the-board MassHealth rate freeze. This is concerning for programs like Day Habilitation, as level-funding will not provide a pathway to reduce existing waitlists, leaving many individuals without access to critical services.
As you may remember, the Governor’s proposal created working groups to find cost savings in Personal Care Attendant (PCA), Adult Family/Foster Care (AFC) and Adult Day Health (ADH). The Arc’s CEO Maura Sullivan is serving on the PCA and AFC working groups, which will continue to meet.
The good news is that in the House Ways and Means proposal, there is clear language that no cuts to PCA are to be made until the working group, which includes advocates, agrees. This gives the working group more time and authority to make decisions that balance the need for cost containment with the importance of services. We will be filing an amendment with similar language for the AFC working group to ensure that no cuts are made without consensus.
These MassHealth-funded long-term supports and services (LTSS) programs are essential to maintaining independence and community-based living and they will remain a central focus of our advocacy throughout the budget process.
Chapter 257 Workforce Rates
The House Ways and Means proposal commits to the same $175 million funding level for Chapter 257 as the Governor’s proposal, even though a full $260 million is needed to fund rates at the 53rd percentile of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Our understanding remains that there was an overestimate of inflation in FY26 and that balance will be moved over to fully reach the $260 million needed for FY27. We will continue to monitor this closely.
However, the House Ways and Means proposal does include some concerning language seeking a study that references the 50th percentile – a figure that would move us backwards and is wholly inadequate. While the language does not set rates at the 50th percentile, we are working with partners to file an amendment to remove this language and have the state commit to maintaining rates at the 53rd percentile.
Additional Provisions
- The Governor’s proposal placed a cap on MassHealth dental expenses at $1,000 per member per year, with exemptions for those served by DDS. Thanks to the advocacy of organizations like Health Care for All, The Arc, and others, this cap was increased to $1,750. Though no cap is preferable, this increase will make a significant difference in people’s ability to access oral healthcare.
- The Governor’s budget proposal called for a 4% decrease in Early Intervention funding. The House Ways and Means proposal reversed some of those cuts, though the funding proposed is still lower than FY26.
- The House Ways and Means proposal fully funds the special education circuit breaker and calls for additional reporting on the cost and procurement process for out-of-district school transportation to ensure transparency and competitiveness.
Next Steps
In the next two weeks, House members will file and debate amendments to this proposal before the budget process moves to the Senate.
We are actively working with legislators to file needed amendments – and we will need your voice to support those amendments. Please stay tuned and get ready to advocate!
