INDIANAPOLIS – Five Indiana counties are choosing to give up a combined maximum of $3.3 million in enhanced public health funding from the state in 2024, with the bulk of that funding coming from Johnson County, which qualified for up to $2.1 million in funds.
But Gov. Eric Holcomb said Tuesday he is happy with the progress — of Indiana’s 92 counties, 85, or 92%, have chosen to join the state program with a few days left before a Sept. 1 deadline.
“Some smart people told me maybe 50% (would opt-in),” Holcomb said. “… this is no state takeover; this is no mandate. This is about local providers and their community.”
None of the Johnson County commissioners responded to calls from the Indiana Capital Chronicle or the public health department.
Johnson County leaders told the Daily Journal earlier this month that the health department didn’t need the funds and already performs the “core public health services” required by the grant funding.
“We’re not greedy. I think the consensus is we don’t need it, so why take it?” Johnson County Commissioner Kevin Walls told the local publication. “… It could be better utilized someplace else.”
Saying no before the deadline doesn’t prohibit the municipality from opting into the funding in future years. Public health departments in four other counties, Whitley, Wells, Fountain, and Crawford, also declined the financing. Adams and Harrison Counties did not say if they would meet the deadline.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle called stakeholders in each of the 15 counties the Indiana Department of Health map says haven’t yet committed. Eight of those counties indicated that they had decided to opt in recently but hadn’t yet finalized their paperwork, meaning at least 85 counties have committed to participating in the state program.
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