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CHARLESTON -- A bill to split the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources into three separate departments took another step forward Wednesday.
The House Finance Committee recommended House Bill 2006, relating to reorganizing the Department of Health and Human Resources, for passage Wednesday afternoon, sending the bill to the full House for consideration.
HB 2006 would split DHHR into a Department of Human Services, a Department of Health, and a Department of Health Facilities effective Dec. 1 of this year. The three departments would be served by one central Office of Chief Operating Officer for administrative support for human resources, finances, information technology, administrative services, and communications.
The House Health and Human Resources Committee recommended HB 2006 for passage Jan. 17, and the state Senate passed a similar bill on day one of the 2023 legislative session on Jan. 11. House Health Committee Chairwoman Amy Summers, R-Taylor, also serves on the House Finance Committee.
"I'm excited to have continued movement on the restructuring of DHHR," Summers said after the committee meeting. "I think this is the first step into providing better health outcomes, better opportunities for our vulnerable population in the State of West Virginia."
The Department of Human Services would oversee the Bureau of Social Services, the Bureau of Medical Services, the Bureau of Child Support Enforcement, the Bureau of Family Assistance, the Bureau of Behavioral Health, and the Office of Drug Control Policy.
The Department of Health would oversee the Bureau of Public Health, the Office of Emergency Medical Services and EMS Advisory Board, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the Office of Threat Preparedness, the Office of Inspector General, and the Health Care Authority.
The Department of Health Facilities would oversee state-owned hospitals: Hopemont Hospital in Terra Alta, Jackie Withrow Hospital in Beckley, John Manchin Sr. Health Care Center in Fairmont, Lakin Hospital in West Columbia, Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital in Huntington, Welch Community Hospital, and William R. Sharpe Hospital in Weston.
The bill also gives great autonomy to the Office of Inspector General. The OIG would oversee the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification, the Board of Review, the Foster Care Ombudsman, the Olmstead Office, Investigation and Fraud Management, Quality Control, the West Clearance for Access: the Registry and Employment Screening, the Mental Health Ombudsman, the Long-Term Care Ombudsman, and the Human Rights Commission.
According to a fiscal note submitted by the Legislature's Division of Regulatory and Fiscal Affairs, splitting up DHHR into three departments would have no negative fiscal impact on the state, with the cost of creating a new cabinet-level position and possible secretary and executive assistant positions offset by eliminating vacant administration positions.
"This analysis assumes that the total current responsibilities of DHHR are split between the three new departments and the COO without addition and that no cost savings are realized from the COO's administrative efficiency plan," according to the fiscal note. "Should cost savings be realized because of the administrative efficiency plan, HB 2006 could provide an overall cost reduction to the state."
"I don't think there will be any change in the fiscal note except what government tries to do if they try to grow themselves," Summers said. "That's why there is a section of the bill that says you can't do that. You need to work and create efficiencies."
The bill had support from Democratic members of the committee, including House Minority Leader Doug Skaff, D-Kanawha. Skaff said lawmakers should be less worried about whether the bill saves taxpayers money and more focused on ensuring splitting DHHR helps deliver services and improves the state's health outcomes.
"DHHR is such a large, enormous department, I think we should do anything we can do to provide better services to the people of West Virginia by breaking them up into three different divisions where they can specialize and be specific," Skaff said. " My concern is they don't know what they don't know yet. As we create these three new departments, there might be things they need that they don't have now so they can efficiently and effectively do their job."