JFAC reviews Division of Public Health Services budget requests, seeks follow-up on data modernization and program restorations

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Wednesday reviewed the Department of Health and Welfare’s Division of Public Health Services FY2026 budget request, hearing agency testimony about a mix of one-time enhancements, program restorations and requests to restore baseline funding cut to accommodate prior federal grants.

The presentation was led by Keith Bybee, division manager of budget policy analysis, and Alex Adams, director of the Department of Health and Welfare, who described a structural shift in the division’s recent budget history and outlined the department’s requests. "I would characterize it as a healthy exercise," Adams told the committee, describing the agency's work to reassess whether programs should remain ongoing or be converted to one-time funding. Bybee told members the division’s FY2025 appropriation was about $164,020,000 and that a portion of earlier spending reflected CARES Act and ARPA awards that later wound down.

Committee members pressed department staff for more detail on both one-time and ongoing items. Senators and representatives asked specifically for a written update on past data modernization work before approving additional funds. "We’ve got about 62 different systems, siloed systems," Adams said, agreeing to provide a summary of prior modernization spending and deliverables after the hearing.

Why it matters: the Division of Public Health Services funds immunizations, communicable disease surveillance, laboratory services, vital records, suicide prevention and maternal-child programs across Idaho; changes in how programs are classified (ongoing vs. one-time) affect future baseline spending and local public health districts that receive contract funding.

Key requests and restorations detailed at the hearing - One-time/ARPA-related enhancements: Bybee said the agency requested about $8,752,500 in one-time federal-related funds that the governor recommended; much of the one-time spending is tied to prior ARPA carryover. - Ongoing program restorations: the agency requested $20,846,300 in ongoing restorations; the governor recommended $21,464,500, which includes a $500,000 initiative for a rural physician incentive program. - Specific program restorations and amounts (agency requests cited to the committee): suicide prevention — $1,807,700 general fund and $195,000 federal; drug overdose prevention — $2,820,200 and 4 FTE; refugee health screening — $991,000 and 1.5 FTE; Alzheimer’s and related dementia coordination — $275,200 GF; Fit and Fall Proof program — $140,000 ongoing; diabetes population health — $1,063,700 ongoing; HIV prevention — $957,300 ongoing; oral health workforce — $379,600 ongoing; integrated hepatitis surveillance — $599,200 ongoing; WIC and women/infant/children nutrition support — $6,944,600 ongoing; temporary assistance/TANF funding restoration — $400,000 ongoing. - Data modernization: Bybee and Adams described multiple data modernization lines: vital records automation (CDC Data Modernization II funding), WIC system modernization, and a broad public health data modernization initiative to reduce siloing and improve exchange and transparency. - Immunization funding: the division requested $2,500,000 ongoing from dedicated funds for the Idaho immunization program; Bybee placed the immunization assessment fund request on the agency list (the presentation referenced a larger assessment fund amount shown in the packet). - Vital records: request for $150,000 ongoing dedicated funds for Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics to process birth, death and other vital records. - Home visiting: request for $725,900 ongoing from federal funds to expand home visiting services to counties identified via needs assessment. - Rural physician incentive: the governor requested $500,000 GF for medical education loan repayment for physicians practicing in federally designated health professional shortage areas; Elke Shaw Tullock, division administrator for public health, told the committee the program has a "very high retention rate. Almost 91% of the providers that receive these loan repayments stay in the state and practice in the state."

Committee response and requested follow-up Committee members repeatedly asked for more granular reports on prior data modernization work funded with ARPA or other federal sources before committing additional dollars. Senator Cook asked the department to provide a three-page summary of what was delivered under prior modernization funding; Adams agreed to circulate that material after the hearing. Representative Price and other members raised questions about where certain programs should be housed — for example, whether the drug overdose prevention or Fit and Fall Proof programs might be a better fit under other state offices — and Adams said the department was open to interagency transfers but had requested restorations to maintain existing program structure.

No formal committee votes were recorded during the hearing; staff advised members to contact analysts for follow-up. The committee did note that a technical correction related to a cancer data registry supplemental had already been passed by JFAC on Jan. 17 (committee staff noted that action during the presentation).

What’s next Members were encouraged to contact the department’s analysts and the division for follow-up material (detailed data modernization deliverables, staffing and system inventories, and program-level performance measures) before the committee considers appropriation decisions. Adams and Bybee asked members to coordinate individually with analysts if they wanted line-item adjustments or to pursue legislative solutions in upcoming trailer bills.

Ending note Officials framed the FY2026 request as an attempt to restore programs moved to one-time funding over the past several years and to finish IT modernization projects begun with federal awards. Committee members signaled interest in additional documentation about earlier deliverables before approving further ongoing increases.