The Department of Health and Human Resources would have a cabinet secretary over administrative functions, a deputy secretary over health and a deputy secretary over human resources under changes to an agency restructuring bill being considered by senators.
The current cabinet secretary for the Department of Health and Human Resources was perplexed when asked to respond to the concept today.
“I’m having a hard time kind of figuring out what an organizational chart would look like,” DHHR Secretary Bill Crouch told senators.
“It is totally unique from the standpoint of having a secretary who is not the secretary.”
As passed earlier by delegates, House Bill 4020 would split the big agency into the Department of Health and the Department of Human Resources. Each would have a co-equal cabinet secretary.
A substitute brought up in the Senate Finance Committee on Monday afternoon, would provide new twists.
As explained by committee counsel, this one would split the department into two distinct policy entities. That change would leave the cabinet secretary in place for “administrative purposes only.”
“What does ‘administrative’ mean versus policy?” asked Senator Stephen Baldwin, D-Greenbrier. The answer focused on communications functions, the general counsel and personnel.
That bill would create two divisions, each led by a deputy secretary. Each would report directly to the governor.
One division would be the Division of Health and the other would be the Division of Human Resources.
The governor’s general counsel, Berkeley Bentley, said the administration would like more time to work through the proposed change. “We could present a plan — it may be this plan, it may be something else — and just make sure we have things accounted for,” he said.
Senate Finance Chairman Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, reacted to Bentley’s acknowledgement of problems with the agency. “How long have you been aware that there are serious problems within DHHR?” he asked.
Bentley responded, “I read the paper like everybody else, and there are problems from time to time and I think they’ve become more acute over time. I think they do need to be addressed.”
Senator Ron Stollings, D-Boone, spoke against the changes made by the bill. “There’s no question the DHHR could be tweaked and function better,” he said, but he urged more thought about what to do. “I think we’re making a mistake here, frankly.”
Senator Dave Sypolt, R-Preston, said he has been involved in similar discussions about DHHR over the years. “Every year we talk about it, and nothing gets done,” he said. “I think this is a good first step.”