Cutbacks in EPSDT

As far as the EPSDT part of the SAMI budget, the program was actually $91,000 in the BLACK. The Nevada State Legislature budgeted $35.79 per average screening. By the Spring of 1976, it was costing the state only $26.77. The Legislature budgeted for an average of 522 screenings per month for the entire state. By the Spring of 1976, it was coming to 357 a month. The Legislature had budgeted $186,820 for EPSDT services for the year. By the Spring of 1976, it was averaging $95,715 for the year. Yet, using the rhetoric of the "Medicaid fiscal crisis", Miller zeroed in on EPSDT and tried to cut it back and even cut it off. In December 1975, first cutback of EPSDT was effectively achieved, when the NSWD restricted the time between re?screenings of an eligible child. Revising the once-a-year check-up procedure that had been in effect before, Minor Kelso advised all EPSDT providers, on 12/1/75, that the new periodicity of EPSDT eligible children would be as follows: 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, 9 years, 13 years, and 20 years. Obviously, the number of recipient months, already down 165 from the budgeted 522 a month, would be reduced even further under the new periodicity regulation.