Department of Health, Arizona
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The purpose of the Department of Health Services is to promote and protect the health of Arizona citizens through direct care, public policy, and leadership, and the operation of programs in areas such as behavioral health, disease prevention and control, health promotion, community public health, environmental health, maternal and child health, emergency preparedness, regulation of childcare and assisted living centers, nursing homes, hospitals, and emergency services.[1]
Budget
The fiscal year 2011 agency requested budget totals $621,245.90. The actual 2009 budget totaled $600,081.50 and the 2010 budget totaled 524,606.70.[2]
| Program | Allocations |
|---|---|
| Administration | $32,811.5 |
| Public Health | $20,449.3 |
| Family Health | $41,061.6 |
| Behavioral Health | $458,974.5 |
| Arizona State Hospital | $67,949.0 |
| Total | $621,245.9 |
The fiscal year 2011 operating budget totals $471,030.0, a $26,834.1 increase from the FY 2010 budget of $457,369.8. Other appropriated funds operating budget summary is as follows:[3]
| Appropriated Fund | Allocations |
|---|---|
| Service Fees Increase Fund | $7,582.4 |
| Tobacco Tax and Health Care Fund | $31,406.7 |
| Capital Outlay Stabilization Fund | $1,578.0 |
| Child Care and Development Fund | $832.2 |
| Health Research Fund | $0.0 |
| Emergency Medical Services Operating Fund | $5,154.8 |
| Newborn Screening Program Fund | $6,812.7 |
| Substance Abuse Services Fund | $2,250.0 |
| Nursing Care Institution Protection Fund | $38.0 |
| Environmental Lab License Revolving Fund | $935.2 |
| Child Fatality Review Fund | $99.1 |
| Vital Records Electronic Systems Fund | $433.7 |
| Hearing and Speech Professionals Fund | $321.9 |
| The Arizona State Hospital Fund | $18,898.4 |
| DHS State Hospital Land Earnings Fund | $1,150.0 |
| DHS ‐ Indirect Cost Fund | $7,827.5 |
| Tobacco Tax and Health Care Fund | $31,406.7 |
| Agency Total | $85,320.6 |
Programs
The state's Medicaid program operates under the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System agency.[4] The agency offers health care coverage to qualifying Arizona residents. The program is facing a projected $73.3 million shortfall for fiscal year 2011. As of November 2010, the program had 1,357,142 members.[5]
The state's food assistance program, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), is part of the national program to provide health food to qualifying families and individuals.[6]
Leadership
The Director of the Department of Health Services is Will Humble.[7]
Transparency
Arizona Open Books is the state's official transparency website and reports the state's financial activities.[8]
Medicaid and the Health Care Compact
A number of states have passed, or are in the process of having their state legislatures approve, the Health Care Compact. This compact seeks to restore control of health care funds to states, allowing participating states to use their federal health care dollars without federal mandates, thus proving them the flexibility and authority to address the unique health care challenges of their state. Rising Medicaid costs highlight the difficulty of balancing state budget crises with federal health care regulations. Medicaid is a federal-state partnership program funded by federal and state tax dollars, but states lack flexibility designing Medicaid programs that best fit the needs of their residents because the federal government sets the standards for the program. As such, the new federal health care law will force states to increase their Medicaid spending, as the law will raise Medicaid eligibility from 100% to 138% of the federal poverty level, resulting in half a million new Medicaid recipients in some states and necessitating that state governments make budget cuts in other areas, such as education and transportation.
The Health Care Compact would restore governance of health care funds to states, allowing flexibility in designing health care programs that reflect the needs of their residents, such that states like Florida with higher numbers of retirees can devote more funds to Medicare programs while states like Mississippi and Tennessee can create additional Medicaid programs for families below poverty level.
Georgia and Oklahoma legislatures have passed the Health Care Compact and one or both houses of the legislatures in Missouri, Texas, Tennessee, Arizona, Montana, and Colorado have approved the Compact. Once approved by Congress, the Health Care Compact will trump other federal health care laws and given decision-making authority over its federal health care dollars to each Compact member.[9]
References
- ↑ About ADHS
- ↑ State Agency Budgets
- ↑ FY 2011 Budget Summary
- ↑ Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System
- ↑ FY 2011 Appropriation Status Report
- ↑ Food Assistance Programs in Arizona
- ↑ Organizational Chart
- ↑ Arizona Open Books
- ↑ "Why Health Care Compact could be solution to Medicaid crisis", The Daily Caller, June 16, 2011
External links
References
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