By DAVID BEARD
The Dominion Post
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The House of Delegates has in its hands a bill to break the Department of Health and Human Resources into four agencies. Whatever the fate of that bill, DHHR has to carry on as it is; and Senate Finance Committee members heard DHHR’s budget pitch for Fiscal Year 2019 on Jan. 24.
“The Department of Health and Human Resources has the responsibility to care for the most vulnerable members of society,” Deputy DHHR Secretary Jeremiah Samples told the members.
DHHR has been pursuing a five-year budget reduction plan, he said, and has reduced spending by $207 million from Fiscal Year 2014 through FY 2018. For FY 2019, which begins July 1, it is asking for $90 million less than FY 2018.
DHHR’s total FY 2019 budget will be $5.85 billion, Samples said. About 67 percent of that, $3.93 billion will be federal revenue. From the state General Fund, DHHR is seeking just over $1.16 billion, about 20 percent of its total.
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