Several lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle on Monday decried the state Health Department's refusal to spend millions of dollars appropriated to bring more people into a program providing services related to developmental disabilities.

However, despite the frustration expressed by some members of the Legislative Finance Committee, Health Secretary Alfredo Vigil, testifying at an LFC hearing, stood by his contention that spending the $9.4 million would be financially and morally irresponsible.

"We are desperate to put more money to take people off the waiting list," Vigil said. But he added, "We're obligated to maintain the integrity of our existing program."

The Health Department is requesting more than $9.5 million for next year's budget just to keep the existing 4,000 clients in what is known as the developmentally disabled waiver program. Had the department spent this year's $9.4 million to get hundreds of people off the waiting list for the program — as the Legislature had directed — Vigil said he would have had to double his request for a budget increase. About 4,800 people are on the waiting list. Some have been there for almost 10 years.

A major problem, Vigil said, is that costs have gone up for people on the waiver program. In recent years, he said the cost per client has risen from about $55,000 a year to $75,000 a year.

David Abbey, executive director of the LFC, said he hadn't heard about such a large increase before. "If there are cost overruns that's something we'll have to look into," he said.

Family members representing about 10 people on the waiting list attended the hearing. Some of them came wearing signs saying how long they'd been on the list. However, the committee asked them to remove the signs in the hearing room.

"What got us upset was finding out much later that legislative intent was ignored," Sen. Sue Beffort Wilson, R-Sandia Park, told Vigil. She suggested the Health Department spend $1 million of the money to take people off the waiting list. Then, she suggested, the Legislature should make the decision whether the rest of money should be spent to give services to some of those on the waiting list.

Vigil didn't comment on Beffort's suggestion.

Beffort also criticized the Health Department for not communicating with legislators that there was a problem with spending the money.

Sen. John Sapien, D-Rio Rancho, said he found it "disconcerting" that the Health Department hadn't followed the Legislature's direction. "We need to do all we can for this constituency," Sapien said.

Jim Jackson, executive director of Disability New Mexico, said after Monday's hearing that he was disappointed that nothing happened with the unspent funds. "It doesn't seem that anyone is going to stand up and push this administration."

Vigil argues that his department can't spent the money appropriated by the Legislature because it is not recurring funding.

However, Abbey said that $4 million provided in one bill was a "special appropriation" and thus, not recurring. However, he said, $5.4 million, which was part of the budget bill, is recurring.

The waiver program allows Medicaid money to be used to provide services for the developmentally disabled, such as daily-living and job-skills training and residential services. The state has been participating in the program since the mid-'80s. It's considered a "waiver" program because it's not an entitlement program. States can limit the number of people served.

At a special session last summer, the Legislature appropriated $10 million for the program in a health care bill. In a news release the following month, Gov. Bill Richardson said, "The additional funding will help provide services to more than 400 New Mexicans, both children and adults, who have spent years on the waiver waiting list." Two months later, Vigil, in a letter to those who provide services to the developmentally disabled, wrote that the governor believed in providing services to more people with developmental disabilities "even in these difficult economic times and the department would spend about $8.75 million directly on adding more people onto the program.

However, "the total budgetary picture is so bleak that any statements or commitments we had (last year) just don't hold today," Vigil said in a recent interview over the worsening economy.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the number of existing clients on the developmentally disabled waiver

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at roundhouseroundup.com.