Health Department seeks to repeal several annual reports and add one‑time recovery services financial review

Legislative Council staff and Health Department officials told the Senate Health & Welfare Committee they proposed multiple changes to statutory reporting in the Health Department bill, including repealing several annual reports and adding a one‑time recovery service organizations financial report.

Jessica Schiavano, policy director at the Department of Health, described a set of department‑requested edits the committee had before it, including repeal of an annual community violence prevention program report and deletion of older session‑law reports. She said the department will continue to collect underlying data — for example on where deaths occur in hospital or living settings and on lead screening — and that data will remain available to the legislature on request; the department does not believe an annual, statutorily required report is necessary.

Legislative Council staff also flagged a new requirement that the Health Department, in consultation with other AHS departments and recovery service organizations, produce a written report by Feb. 15 covering total actual income and expenditures for recovery service organizations in fiscal years 2024 through 2026, public funding sources (state, federal and municipal), recipients of funding, an analysis of grant performance and outcomes, and recommendations to enhance financial stability.

Emily Truder, division director for the Health Department’s Division of Substance Use Programs, said the recovery sector has rapidly expanded and is moving toward a planned Medicaid payment benefit for recovery coaching in July 2027; she said a focused fiscal analysis is a standard part of prior system changes and would increase transparency about program finances.

The bill also proposes to change timing for other reports (for example a health equity analytic report) and to remove the annual reporting requirement for the emergency service provider wellness commission so the commission can report “as needed” rather than on a fixed annual schedule, Schiavano said.

Committee members asked whether repealing the annual reports would remove access to data; Schiavano reiterated the data collection will continue and lawmakers can request analyses.

Committee staff noted a technical change setting the bill’s effective date to July 1, 2025. The committee agreed to return the following morning to fine‑tune language and take up a vote.