Department of Health

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett recently unveiled his proposed state FY 2014 budget.  The day he did, members of the Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania (SNAP) immediately received a comprehensive memo outlining the governor’s budget proposal with an emphasis on the issues that matter most to the state’s 61 private safety-net hospitals.
Over a seven-day period, SNAP has presented in this space the highlights of the governor’s budget, again with an emphasis on Medical Assistance and other matters of special interest to Pennsylvania’s safety-net hospitals.   In this final installment, SNAP takes a look at what that budget proposes for the state’s Department of Health.
The Department of Health’s budget calls for a number of spending cuts.  Among them, it calls for the complete elimination of funding associated with its diabetes, poison control centers, Tourette Syndrome, epilepsy support services, lupus, trauma coordination, ALS support services, and biotech research programs.  Together, this accounts for a $6.3 million cut in Health Department funding.
On the other hand, the department’s proposed budget includes $4 million in grants to clinics to improve access to primary care in medically underserved areas and $1 million in new money to support 24 additional loan repayment grants to enhance the recruitment of doctors to medically underserved areas.