Committee warned provider‑tax changes will hit general fund; staff to track effects

A committee member told the joint Appropriations and Ways & Means hearing on Jan. 16 that changes to a health‑care provider tax discussed earlier would reduce general‑fund revenue by roughly $17–18 million per year for five years; the member said that by year five the state would be ‘‘losing 85,000,000 a year.’’ Tom Cravat, the state economist, confirmed the provider‑tax impacts feed through to the general fund and flagged the change as a material consideration when interpreting the forecast.

Cravat explained health‑care forecasting is handled partly by other staff (he named Nolan Langlois as covering some health items) while the office models general‑fund categories. He said the provider‑tax change is one of the larger single items that moves the general‑fund picture; other general‑fund sources showed only small variance versus the prior forecast.

Committee members asked staff to track provider‑tax flows and return with any adjustments to the forecast. No formal motion or vote was recorded; staff said they would communicate updates directly to committee leadership if new information emerges.