JFAC reviews Public Health Services budget; lawmakers weigh restoring ongoing programs and data modernization funding

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on an unspecified date heard a detailed presentation on the Department of Health and Welfare’s Division of Public Health Services budget, focusing on requests to restore ongoing program funding, pay for one-time data modernization work funded by federal carryovers, and expand several prevention programs.

The briefing, led by Keith Bybee, division manager of budget policy analysis, and Department Director Alex Adams, outlined that the division’s FY2025 appropriation was $164,020,000 and that the department’s FY2026 request was roughly $154,000,000 — a reduction the director described as “about $10,000,000 out of the budget or a 6% reduction year over year.” The division asked to reverse several prior moves that reclassified ongoing programs as one-time funding and to restore a number of programs to ongoing status.

Why it matters: the Division of Public Health Services funds immunizations, vital records, laboratory testing, emergency medical services (EMS), suicide prevention, WIC, HIV and hepatitis prevention, diabetes and chronic disease programs, and other prevention and preparedness efforts. Changes to ongoing funding levels or the state’s willingness to fund one-time modernization projects will affect local public health districts, clinics, and services relied on statewide.

Key details from the presentation

- Structure and trend: Public Health Services administers five program areas including physical health services, EMS, laboratory services, suicide prevention, and health care policy initiatives (including the State Healthcare Innovation Plan, SHIP). The division reported 256.52…