This past weekend, KDLT reported that State Senate leaders from both sides of the aisle are asking their colleagues to focus exclusively on solving the state’s budget crisis and to restrain themselves from introducing other legislation. According to the report, Senators Olson and Hunhoff hope to avoid debate on “divisive” proposals and warned that measures that would require funding are unlikely to gain any traction.
While we applaud the Senate leadership in their commitment to solve our state’s budget crisis, they would also do well to look for innovate policies that produce a cost savings for the state. For example, other states that have requested a medicaid family planning wavier found that every $1 spent on prevention programs saves the state budget as much as $5 in long-term medicaid costs.
As the legislators continue to debate where our tax dollars are spent, we hope this point is not lost on them. When it comes to prevention programs, an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of care.