Miss. Department of Health budget largely level, officials say

The Mississippi Department of Health will enter the coming fiscal year with largely level funding, officials said. Lecreta Tribune, the department’s chief financial officer, told the Mississippi State Board of Health that, outside of a $600,000 increase, the agency’s budget is unchanged from the previous year.

Tribune’s presentation showed $27 million budgeted for agency operations supporting core public health, $33.4 million to be sent to agency programs, $13 million for the trauma care program and $27.7 million for “other purposes,” Tribune said.

State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney said the Legislature had provided increases in the two prior years and that he was appreciative to receive level funding this year. He said the first two funding “buckets” are used to run the department, trauma funding is mostly pass-through, and the remaining funds support health programs. Edney said Jackson water settlement funds will carry over from the previous year for capital expenses.

Officials said another $4.5 million in opioid settlement funds will be used for a substance use disorder program. Edney said the funding will provide free access to care and medications for opioid use disorders through county health departments, adding, “That’s going to help us expand that work and augment our staffing, expand our medication options.”

State appropriations for the medical cannabis program remained level, officials said. Edney said the department did not seek broader budget increases after recent fee changes freed about $8 million. “I just don’t think that we need to be using state taxpayer money to regulate for-profit entities. The fees should take care of that,” he said, and suggested fee increases be considered every three years instead of every 10 to keep the agency’s budget in line.

Source: Original Article