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Board told pharmacy contract termination is disrupting TB and STI medication supplies and trimming FY27 funding
Summary
Black Hawk County public-health director told the board that Iowa HHS’s termination of a contract with Nucara Pharmacy has disrupted TB case-management and STI clinic medications and that termination of DIS and Partner Services funding could reduce FY27 revenues by about $50,000.
Kaitlin Emrich, director of Black Hawk County Public Health, told the Board of Health on March 25 that recent changes at the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services have disrupted local medication supplies and grant funding.
Emrich said Iowa HHS terminated its contract with Nucara Pharmacy, a change that has affected TB case-management medications and the drugs the county uses in its sexually transmitted infection clinics. She also reported that the DIS and Partner Services grant was terminated as a downstream consequence of that contract change, producing an estimated $50,000 hit to the public-health budget for fiscal year 2027.
The director described other routine program updates, including renovation progress at the public health center and a pending federal grant application for lead-hazard reduction capacity building. Emrich also said statewide Iowa HHS system realignment efforts are currently on hold because of pending legislation, Senate File 2432.
Board members did not vote on a remedy at the meeting; Emrich’s report closed with a request for continued monitoring and for staff to return with implementation and budget impact updates as options are developed.
The board is scheduled to meet again April 29; staff said they will report any new information about medication supply or grant-replacement options at a future meeting.
