“The public private partnership is the model, where private investors put their money and invest in at-risk kids. If those kids get through kindergarten and sixth grade without intervention, we reimburse the investor,” says Hughes. “It’s a way to invest dollars the state does not have. It does not expand government into 3 and 4 year olds. It is a reimbursement back if we can manage a massive cost-avoidance to the state.”
Hughes also says he’s frustrated there’s so much misinformation about his his proposal to allow breathalyzers in bars.
“I’m a little like Ghostbusters this session, I chase ghosts. All these things my bill doesn’t do, I have to chase down. I’m not mandating that bars have a breathalyzer in them and I’m not mandating that patrons use them. I simply want to create a regulatory climate where that is now possible.”
Hughes says he’s still weighing the options on whether the state should accept federal Medicaid expansion dollars, but he says there’s so many other places that need help too.
“Legislators are used to saying ‘no.” There are simply more requests than dollars. At some point you have to prioritize what you can afford and what you can’t. We actually have to make some tough decisions. Don’t tell me expansion of Medicaid is a moral crusade when we are not helping other sections of the population who need it as well.”