Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Wicomico County Health Officer reports service increases, warns of potential Medicaid coverage losses
Summary
Health Officer Matthew McConaughey presented the department’s 2023–2028 strategic priorities and annual report, noting growth in language-access services and behavioral-health discharges but warning that recent federal budget changes could put an estimated 4,160 county residents at risk of losing Medicaid coverage under ACA expansion rules.
Matthew McConaughey, Wicomico County Health Officer, presented the Health Department’s biannual report and the county’s 2023–2028 strategic plan priorities: health improvement, communication, workforce and technology. McConaughey highlighted a completed community health needs assessment and local health improvement plan completed with regional partners and cited expanded language-access services (Haitian Creole, Spanish and Portuguese) with more than 4,500 hours of language access in FY25 and 96.7% external customer satisfaction.
The department reported service volumes across divisions: roughly 4,800 WIC clients served, hundreds of behavioral-health patients with discharge-success rates around 68% (outpatient) and 72% (intensive outpatient), more than 8,300 MCIP applications processed and progress on septic/well permit turnaround metrics. Environmental health reported vaccination clinics, permit application backlogs and active permit-processing metrics.
McConaughey told the council about potential federal changes that may reduce Maryland Medicaid funding by approximately $2.7 billion and estimated a local impact of about 4,160 Wicomico residents losing Medicaid coverage if certain federal changes occur. He said the changes could narrow immigrant eligibility and add work requirements and more frequent eligibility checks (moving some reviews from annual to semi‑annual), and urged residents to keep contact details current for official notices; the department said state and local navigators (MCHIP and local SHIP) can assist affected individuals.
On facilities, McConaughey described a conceptual plan for renovating a recently acquired “Verizon” building for Health Department use and recommended issuing an RFP to secure construction cost estimates; he said earlier figures lacked itemization and the department would work with the county to get accurate estimates. Councilmembers asked about maintenance and operating cost projections, the potential capital vs. operating split on any request, and contingencies for wet-season monitoring that can affect septic permitting procedures.
The health officer also described collaborations in behavioral health (harm‑reduction services, Narcan training, fatality review teams) and community outreach (diabetes prevention, tobacco cessation, vaccination events). He closed by noting the department’s role as the local behavioral-health authority and by asking council members to reach out with any proposals or products that might help expand services.
