Commissioner Martin on school-based health centers and federal budget
Commissioner Martin discusses school-based health centers serving 143,000 students and the state budget's permanent Medicaid carve-out. He addresses federal funding comprising ~20% of DOHMH's budget, mostly for emergency preparedness and infectious disease control, and expresses cautious optimism about the year ahead.
I'm also pleased to see
a permanent carve-out of school-based health centers for Medicaid-managed care in this year's budget.
Our school-based health centers provide free primary care, including mental health and dental services, to approximately 143,000 New York City students.
We're grateful to see these services supported in the state budget, and I appreciate this council's advocacy on that issue.
Lastly, let me speak to the federal budget.
About 20% of our budget is federally funded.
That amounts to approximately $500 million.
As mentioned, the majority of that funding goes towards emergency preparedness and infectious disease control.
While we expect the federal government to honor its commitment and maintain that funding, the reality is we cannot rely on Washington, D.C.
The writing is on the wall for the year ahead.
This will be a uniquely challenging one for public health.
But in New York City, I'm approaching that year with a whole lot of hope.
I believe in the leadership we have across city government, including this council.
I believe in the 7,000 people who carry out our work at the health department every day.
And I believe in our city.
If there's anyone that can turn tribulation into transformation, it is here.
Thank you for your attention.
We're happy to take questions.