JFAC reviews Division of Public Health Services budget as agency seeks to restore programs, fund data modernization

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Monday reviewed the Department of Health and Welfare’s Division of Public Health Services budget request for fiscal 2026, including requests to restore several programs moved to one-time funding, fund data modernization projects, and expand workforce incentives.

Keith Bybee, division manager of budget policy analysis, told the committee the division’s programs cover immunizations, chronic and communicable disease prevention, food safety, maternal and child health, emergency medical services and more. “Public health services is a big one,” Bybee said, directing members to the budget book and online materials.

The matter drew sustained scrutiny because of a structural change last year that converted multiple ongoing program appropriations to one-time items. Bybee said that removal of ongoing programs produced a $20.7 million change and contributed to a $12.6 million ongoing reduction in the division’s base. The agency is asking to restore many of those cuts: the agency’s ongoing enhancement request totals roughly $20.8 million, and the governor recommended about $21.5 million.

Why it matters: committee members pressed the department on which programs should remain inside the division, which might move to other agencies, and how federal carryover (CARES Act and ARPA) affects baseline spending. The restoration decisions will determine whether services such as suicide prevention, drug overdose prevention and refugee health screening return to ongoing state support or remain one-time-funded projects.

Key requests and details - Program scope and staffing: Bybee said the division shows 256.52 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions established and four vacancies as of Aug. 31, 2024. He said about half the division’s budget is trustee and benefit payments; personnel costs were roughly $27 million (about 18.6% of the FY25 appropriation). The FY2025 original appropriation was listed at $164,020,000. - One-time enhancements: The department listed several ARPA- and grant-related one-time items on page 266 of the legislative budget book. Bybee reported an agency-requested total of $8,752,500 for a set of one-time projects; the governor recommended them. - Data modernization and IT: The department asked for multiple data-modernization efforts (vital statistics, public-health data exchange and laboratory systems) tied to federal epidemiology and laboratory capacity grants and CDC Data Modernization II funding. Committee members asked for details about progress to date before additional appropriations are made; Director Alex Adams said staff would provide a three-page summary after the hearing. - Public health workforce and infrastructure: The budget seeks a public health infrastructure grant for hiring and training local public health workforce and an expansion of medical education loan repayment for providers in federal Health Professional Shortage Areas. - Specific program restorations and amounts discussed in the hearing include: suicide prevention (request: $1,807,700 general fund and $195,000 federal), drug overdose prevention (restore 4 FTE and $2,820,200), refugee health screening (1.5 FTE and $991,000 ongoing), Alzheimer’s/dementia coordination ($275,200 ongoing), Fit and Fall Proof ($140,000 ongoing), diabetes population funding ($1,063,700 ongoing), HIV prevention ($957,300 ongoing), oral health workforce ($379,600 ongoing), integrated hepatitis surveillance ($599,200 ongoing), and WIC/Immunization program funding requests (the immunization program requested $2,500,000 ongoing from dedicated funds to support vaccine access for Idaho children under 19). Bybee also identified a home-visiting request of $725,900 ongoing in federal funds.

Questions from the committee focused on program placement, federal funding risk and accountability. Representative Price asked whether some programs should sit in other agencies; Director Alex Adams said the department’s focus is on prevention and that some programs target different populations than other agencies’ work but the department is open to discussion. Senator Cook asked for a status report on prior data modernization spending; Adams promised to circulate a short summary of work completed under ARPA grants.

Adams summarized the budget process as “a healthy exercise” that produced roughly a 6% year-over-year reduction in the division’s budget request while restoring selected activities. He also noted the department reduced or eliminated some programs and reorganized internal functions, and said the department now requires executive-level review to ensure programs align with state values and priorities.

No formal action was taken during the hearing; the committee encouraged follow-up with analysts and staff for detailed policy work and trailer-bill language.

Concluding note: members emphasized the need for more detail on prior-year ARPA/COVID spending and the progress of IT modernization before committing additional ongoing dollars. The committee set expectations that staff will provide requested documentation and analysts for subsequent deliberations.