Phelps County residents relying on the Phelps-Maries County Health Department for health care may be forced to search for alternative options.
According to department director Jodi Waltman, health departments across the state are alarmed after Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon announced his proposal to cut the department’s state funding by 27 percent during his State of the State address.
“If it goes through, it will affect services,” Waltman said. “I will have to cut hours and decrease what I do.”
If Nixon’s proposal is approved by the legislature, it would go into effect for the state’s upcoming fiscal year which starts in July.
“Because their budget cycle is different than ours — theirs starts in July — this could affect (Waltman’s) budget for this year,” Phelps County Clerk Carol Bennett said.
The Phelps County Commission approved the health department’s budget for 2012 Thursday morning. The approved version of the budget — which was written before Nixon’s announcement — does not account for the potential cut in state funding.
Waltman said she, along with other health department directors around the state, is hoping a little bit of education will go a long way in stopping cuts from becoming a reality.
Waltman, along with several health department directors, attended a meeting in Jefferson City Thursday afternoon. Their shared goal was to learn more about the proposal and begin to shape a plan to teach legislators about the potential impact the cuts would have on Missouri citizens.
State Sen. Dan Brown (MO-16) serves as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and says he is angered by many of the cuts Nixon has proposed, including the cut to public health.
“It really ticks me off, to be honest, because of the disconnect,” Brown said.
According to Brown, representatives from the Governor’s office spoke to the appropriations committee about the cuts and categorized the cut to public health as “insignificant.”
He said the governor’s office believes health departments will be able to make up for the funds using other sources.
One of Waltman’s goals is to ensure that legislators are aware that health department funding from Medicare and Medicaid is limited.
“Our Medicaid and Medicare revenues have gone down 40 and 60 percent in the last two years,” she said.
The Phelps-Maries County Health Department receives funding from several sources, including state, federal and grant money.
Brown acknowledges that health department funding options are limited because, although they receive monies from many sources, all of those sources have cut funding in recent years.
He is, however, not completely optimistic that legislators will be able to replace those funds as they attempt to balance a budget that is nearly $500 million in the red.
“Will these cuts stay out? I don’t know at this point because you are looking at education taking such a huge cut,” Brown said.
Brown said his biggest priority during the budget process will be minimizing the $12.5 million cut to higher education that has been proposed.
