Virginia plans to end funding for more than half of the community health workers employed at the state's local health districts, VPM reported Dec. 22.
On Dec. 20, Gov. Glenn Youngkin released his proposed budget for the next two years, which did not include funding for community health workers. There are currently 112 community health workers employed at 25 of Virginia's 35 health districts; by July 1, 2024, 60 of them will lose funding, and by June 30, 2025, at least 20 more will be cut.
The radio station obtained those figures from internal Virginia health department documents; since only 25 of the 35 health districts were included in the records, it is possible that even more community health workers could be affected.
It would cost $11.3 million to fund all 112 positions for the next two years, which is 0.5% of the health department's overall proposed budget, according to the radio station.
Health districts are unsure where they will come up with the money to continue employing community health workers. One internal document reported that 96% of Virginia health districts "strongly agree that loss of funding for CHWs will negatively impact one or more health department programs or services in their health district." Public health programs, including blood pressure monitoring and training on how to use naloxone (a medication that can reverse opioid overdoses), might be cut as a result.
There are still two sources of hope for community health workers and their advocates: Virginia might permit the services they provide to be reimbursable through Medicaid, or might pass a budget amendment that allocates ongoing funding for their positions at local health districts.
Mr. Youngkin's office did not respond to the radio station's request for comment.