Virginia HHR secretary outlines maternal, behavioral health, foster care, long-term care priorities and budget requests

Secretary Janet Kelly, Virginia’s secretary of Health and Human Resources, told the committee she will focus the secretariat’s work this session on five bipartisan priorities: maternal health; behavioral health including fentanyl prevention and children’s mental health; child welfare; long-term care; and infrastructure.

Kelly said the secretariat accounts for roughly 35% of the state operating budget and outlined several current programs, service expansions and budget requests tied to those priorities.

On maternal health, Kelly said Virginia recorded 64 pregnancy-associated deaths in 2021 (down from 82 in 2020) and that the state’s task force on maternal health and data has identified cardiovascular issues and mental health as leading causes. She described an “Ask About Aspirin” campaign aimed at prompting patients to consult providers about aspirin use for certain high-risk pregnancies, and said the administration has directed a $1,000,000 investment through the Office of Transformation to support the task force and implementation. Kelly said the administration has allocated “almost $500,000,000” to maternal health services and asked for an additional…