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It's hard to understand what the lawmakers who rode into office boasting of their aim to "right size" state government were thinking when they decided to turn the Department of Health and Human Resources into three new agencies (four if you count the Office of Shared Administration that supports the other three). Maybe they really did believe the change would provide better, more efficient service for Mountain State residents.
But surely they knew enough about bureaucracy's ability to serve itself to know that improvement wasn't going to come easily.
Now, more than two months after the launch of the Office of Shared Services for the Department of Health, the Department of Human Resources and the Department of Health Facilities, Dr. Sherri Young, cabinet secretary for the DoH, says "If we had to give a percentage, we're over 80%, but we still are committed to getting that work done."
Young, who seemed intent on reminding lawmakers of the "heavy lift" the three new agencies were accomplishing, appeared to be subtly warning lawmakers that there would be requests for more money, as the budget that used to be dedicated to one agency cannot simply be split into thirds.
"It would be great to say we have split into three departments. We all three have the same demand signals and all three have separate needs. Everybody gets 33%," Young said. "Unfortunately, the demand signals are a little bit different."
Lawmakers will have to carefully read those "demand signals" to ensure they stay vigilant against the fraud, waste and abuse they swore they would fight.
What West Virginians demand is that, whatever form it takes, the bureaucracy that is supposed to serve US does its job to "to promote, protect, manage, and provide appropriate health and human services for our residents to improve their health, well-being and quality of life," without draining more money out of our pockets than is absolutely necessary.
Is that a "heavy lift?" Doing it right will be. Before doling out more money, lawmakers must join their constituents in demanding success.