RALEIGH -- There has been a lot of discussion about the impact of this year's budget cuts on health and human services programs. We at the Department of Health and Human Services are doing everything possible to minimize the impact on direct services that some individuals and family members receive.
We are concerned about misleading or distorted information that might lead the public to believe that critical services for individuals are being eliminated. It is true that the state's budget is in crisis, the worst since the Great Depression. It is true that we are working to reduce the budget as mandated by the General Assembly. What isn't true is that we have a goal to eliminate services or institutionalize individuals in need of comprehensive services.
What we are attempting to do is to review all services being provided by Medicaid, Mental Health, Public Health and all of our DHHS programs to make certain that the services received are appropriate and based upon clinical need.
We have information that leads us to believe that some care providers and some consumers are abusing the system and costing the state untold dollars for services that are inappropriate and not needed. We are taking action to eliminate inappropriate services. Given the fact that this action will reduce some providers' business and profits, it will not be surprising to see efforts to protect these revenues.
We hope that such efforts will not include attempts to mislead and frighten the public and some of our most vulnerable citizens through the distribution of information distorting the truth in order to try to protect their bottom-line revenues. If we are to continue to afford care for our citizens, children, the aged and disabled, we must make certain we are spending available dollars on appropriate care and not wasting taxpayer dollars.
Most of our providers, advocacy groups and stakeholders continue to be valued participants in the process of identifying and reducing waste and abuse in the system, and offer viable solutions to the crisis that we face. It will be regrettable if a few others resort to the use of scare tactics in order to protect their financial interest.
In these tough times, it is mandatory that we scrutinize ourselves and all of our programs for effectiveness, accountability and efficiency. The governor and DHHS are dedicated to making certain that people in need of services have access to those services when clinically founded.
I want citizens to know the facts. We are working to comply with a $1.5 billion budget reduction required by the General Assembly to meet the state's budget crisis. The cuts are historic in nature and unprecedented in amount and potentially touch the lives of every North Carolinian.
In recent weeks legislative leadership publicly acknowledged they "made a serious mistake by deeply slashing funding for Mental Health." This department is the first to recognize the enormity of the cuts and the impact. The budget reductions are difficult for all involved and the weight of the decision that must be made is heavy.
In order to meet this legislative mandate we know we cannot continue status quo. We are attempting to avoid cutting critical services, but at the same time ensure that the services provided are in fact the right ones, by the right provider, at the right time to meet the clinical needs and achieve the desired outcomes for the individual.
Ensuring program integrity and eliminating abuse and fraud within the system are key to controlling unnecessary cost, fiscal sustainability of the system and, most importantly, public confidence that tax dollars are being spent appropriately. The stakes are high and the decisions won't please everyone, but this is the department's goal.
With valuable input from sincere stakeholders, providers, advocacy groups and associations across the state, we are confident that this process will produce a department that every citizen can be proud of, and one that will become an example of an agency working to protect and provide the services that citizens in our state truly need and deserve.
Lanier M. Cansler is secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
