Inos believes that the government should turn the department into a government corporation that is governed by an advisory board.
“We want to give it autonomy and let it run its own operation,” he told Variety.
This way, he added, Public Health may also consider “outsourcing” some of its services to control expenditures.
According to Inos, there are some Public Health services that can be turned over to the private sector.
But any privatization should not compromise the delivery of critical health service to the people, Inos said.
The Commonwealth Health Center, which is managed by the Department of Public Health, will still responsible for the critical care, he added.
“We’re spending more to run CHC than the money we’re charging from the services it provides,” Inos said. “We’re only taking in $15 million while we need some $35 to $40 million annually to run it.”
CHC’s expenditures, he added, always exceed its resources and revenues.
Based on the governor’s FY 2009 proposed budget for Public Health, the department will get $37.4 million of which $1.37 million will come from the federal Compact-Impact aid and $3.5 million from other outside general fund sources.
Public Health said it needs between a budget of $40 million to $42 million.
Under the governor’s proposal, CHC will get $16.9 million: $4 million for professional services; $374,220, OPA fee; $202,800, insurance; $10.5 million, “all others”; and $1.6 million, utilities.
Public Health said it wants to have “flexibility” in its budget so it can accommodate the needs of its priority areas.
