Pennsylvania health secretaries outline budget priorities, cite workforce and rural access as top concerns

Department of Health Secretary Deborah Bogan and Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs Secretary Letika Davis Jones presented the departments' proposed 2025–26 budgets at a House Appropriations Committee hearing, emphasizing workforce investments, maternal health initiatives and continued support for substance use disorder services.

The secretaries told committee members the administrations' budgets aim to strengthen maternal and neonatal outcomes, expand behavioral-health workforce supports — including student loan repayment and J‑1 visa programs — and preserve access to emergency and preventive services across the commonwealth. Secretary Davis Jones said the proposed budget includes $45 million in state funds to support the department’s RISE priorities: reducing stigma, intensifying prevention, strengthening treatment systems and empowering recovery.

Why it matters: Much of the departments' current programming depends on federal grant streams, officials said. Committee members repeatedly asked how federal funding uncertainty would affect services such as WIC, immunizations and overdose-prevention programs.

Budget and federal dependence: Secretary Bogan said roughly 60% of the Department of Health budget is federal money and that several core programs — for example WIC and emergency preparedness — are fully or mostly federally funded. Davis Jones estimated about 75% of her department's funding comes from federal sources and warned that cuts at the federal level would force program reconsideration.

Workforce initiatives and loan repayment: Davis Jones described a student-loan repayment program for substance use disorder workers now entering a second phase and said the department expects to support about 348 recipients across rounds; participants must remain in the SUD workforce for at least two years. Bogan highlighted proposed expansions of loan-repayment programs for primary care and behavioral-health professionals and a request for additional positions meant to accelerate regulatory and inspection work.

Operational efficiency and program review: Members asked about the governor's REMAP initiative to identify duplicative programs. Bogan said her department has an internal Office of Operational Excellence reviewing programs, leases and alignment across services, and that the department expects to participate in any formal REMAP review.

Outlook: Leaders asked the secretaries to provide follow-up data on several items, including workforce survey results, long-term-care pilot outcomes and specifics on how federal grant risk would affect on-the-ground services. The departments said they would supply additional details to the committee.