As the merge of the Utah Department of Health and the Utah Department of Human Services draws nearer, the new Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is wrapping up their final preparations for the July 1st merger. According to Joe Dougherty, Communications Director for the new DHHS, most of the remaining work includes … Read more
With the recent transition to a new Medicaid director and new combined Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) set to operationalize this July, Utah’s Medicaid program will be focusing on integrating behavioral and physical health care within Medicaid accountable care organizations (ACOs). However, they first have to worry about how the end of the … Read more
It was wonderful to see so many of you in person at our 2022 Utah State of Reform Health Policy Conference last month. From value-based care to health data sharing, from Medicaid to behavioral health, representatives from numerous siloes of Utah health policy came together for forward-looking conversations on the most pertinent health care topics … Read more
The incoming Director of Utah’s new Department of Health and Human Services—the state’s merger of its Department of Health and Department of Human Services—Tracy Gruber joined us for the Lunch Keynote at last month’s 2022 Utah State of Reform Health Policy Conference. During her remarks, Gruber dove into the details of the “massive” … Read more
The Utah Department of Health (UDOH) and the Utah Department of Human Services (DHS) submitted their transition plan for the new Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to the governor and the legislature last week. The plan outlines the path forward to become an operational, combined department by July 1, 2022. The departments held … Read more
Utah Governor Spencer Cox released his Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 $28.5 billion budget recommendations on Dec. 7. The budget allocates $7.6 billion to the new Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)—which will be officially consolidated at the time FY 2023 starts. For DHHS, Cox calls for funding expansions in Medicaid eligibility and enrollment, informational … Read more
Tracy Gruber is the executive director of the Utah Department of Human Services (DHS) and will serve as the executive director of the newly merged Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) when it operationalizes in July of 2022. In this Q&A, Gruber discusses the challenges of the merger, the status of the conversations … Read more