All 92 Indiana counties opt into second year of 'historic' public health initiative

Abigail Ruhman

Article origination Indiana Public Broadcasting

To receive the funding, counties must spend at least 60 percent of it on “core preventative services” such as immunizations, chronic disease prevention, and maternal and child health.
*Justin Hicks / IPB News*

All 92 counties have opted into the second year of Indiana’s “historic” public health initiative.

The state will disperse a total of $150 million to local health departments in January 2025.

The Health First Indiana initiative was a result of 2023 legislation that overhauled the state’s public health system.

County elected officials were in charge of the decision to take Health First Indiana funding to provide additional core public health services. All but six local health departments opted to receive a total of $75 million in 2024. Before lawmakers expanded public health funding, counties shared about $7 million from the state annually.

Crawford, Fountain, Harrison, Johnson, Wells and Whitley counties will be joining the initiative in 2025.

In a statement celebrating full participation, Gov. Eric Holcomb said the investment will improve the health of Hoosiers.

“I’m beyond grateful for all the local officials, health departments and legislative leaders who are embracing HFI and implementing new health strategies that will now ultimately be available to every Hoosier,” Holcomb said. “It took a combination of courage and collaboration to significantly increase our commitment to help those who seek the means to help themselves, and for that, I’ll forever feel indebted."

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To receive the funding, counties must spend at least 60 percent of it on “core preventative services” such as immunizations, chronic disease prevention, and maternal and child health. The Indiana Department of Health said a key component of the initiative is to allow local health departments to determine how the funding is spent since they have insight on what their communities need.

A list of the counties and how much money each will receive can be found at the state's Health First Indiana website.

Abigail is our health reporter. Contact them at aruhman@wboi.org.

Tags:IPB Health First Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb

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