Health department finds ways to cut budget

WASILLA -- Bearing one of the largest budgets in state government during a budget crunch is no easy task, but Department of Health and Social Services Commissioner Joel Gilbertson appears to be taking his duties in stride.

Gilbertson met with members of Mat-Su Agency Partnership last week, both to get acquainted with the group that represents a number of social service agencies and organizations in the Valley, and to let the group know of several changes being made within his department.

The department's challenge, he said, is to find funding for the rising costs of Medicaid and health care without giving in to excessive budget growth. He said the department will save $57 million in the fiscal year 2004 budget recently signed by Gov. Frank Murkowski, but will still see $80 million in growth from the general fund as a result of higher costs. That's just a small portion of the department's $1.7 billion budget, although $1.2 billion of its budget comes from the federal government.

"To believe we're going to be held harmless in any budget decision, I believe, is naive," Gilbertson said. "The needs aren't slowing down."

He said the department will work hard to make the cuts as invisible as possible.

Much of the cut funding will be dealt with through consolidation of services and closing down extraneous offices or positions, Gilbertson said. Alcohol treatment programs have been integrated with mental health programs, senior and disability services have been consolidated and the Division of Family and Youth Services is being molded into a new office of children's services.

Gilbertson said his staff is looking for other ways to cut as well. The department's grant program will be under close review, he said, for worthiness.

"A number of grantees received grants because, well, they got it last year," Gilbertson said.

Although some of those at the table Thursday may be grant recipients, some at the table were more concerned that the department was prepared to keep up with growth in the Valley. Gilbertson said he was committed to seeing that where the people go, the services follow.

Valley Hospital Association spokeswoman Elizabeth Ripley commented on the problems that arise from the Valley being lumped in with Anchorage on several things, one of which is statistical reporting. She encouraged Gilbertson to look at the Valley as a separate entity and not a part of Anchorage. She also said she'd like to see more follow-up reporting necessary for people who obtain grants, to see if the tools they're using are effective.

"You put millions of dollars on the street in alcohol [treatment] grants and very little to see if they work," Ripley said.

Gilbertson said he'd like to see the grant process move toward awarding grants to groups who have monitored their programs and recorded the effects.

Although bringing the budget into line is a sizable task, it's just one of many on Gilbertson's list. Murkowski, he said, has several clear directions for his department, including cracking down on fraud and abuse, bringing Alaska children being treated in treatment centers outside the state back home, and cracking down on sales of tobacco to teens -- a problem the state is currently being fined for after sales of tobacco to teens rose recently. But he was optimistic about the process, and solicited support from those at the partnership meeting

"We all have the same mission -- helping people," Gilbertson said. "We have to focus on that."