Health data hint cuts may be made

Public health advocates yesterday released a document they say shows the state is weighing deep cuts in the budgets of such core medical initiatives as childhood immunizations and community health centers.

The document is a spreadsheet prepared by the state Department of Public Health. A spokeswoman for the agency acknowledged its existence, but said it was just one of hundreds of such worksheets generated in recent months and was not an accurate or full portrayal of the Romney administration's plan for the public health budget.

The department's budget has dropped from $533.5 million during the 2001 budget year to $383 million currently, and the spreadsheet indicates a 2005 budget that would be smaller yet, $328.2 million.

Spokeswomen for the Department of Public Health and the governor would not comment on that figure and said the budget remains a work in progress.

The document was released by the Massachusetts Public Health Association, a confederation of public health officers and other health advocates.

"Public health has been savaged over the last several years," said Geoffrey Wilkinson, the association's executive director. "This is a really obscene proposal here."

Governor Mitt Romney, who is scheduled to present his budget blueprint Jan. 28, has declared in recent days that the signs of a revitalized economy will translate into an expansion of some government services. "The list you're looking at contains spending that has already been restored," said Roseanne Pawelec, a Department of Public Health spokeswoman, who declined to provide further details. She called the spreadsheet "extremely misleading even as a planning document."

The document shows the state's universal immunization program facing a cut of more than $10 million, from $19.2 million to $8.6 million, and indicates steep cuts in grants to the 50 community health centers in the state, with two funding sources being eliminated, resulting in a loss of $6.9 million for the health centers.

The Massachusetts commissioner of public health, Christine C. Ferguson, has publicly discussed enlisting health plans to cover the cost of childhood vaccinations. Dr. Marylou Buyse, president of the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, said she was confident her members would pay for vaccinations.

James W. Hunt Jr., president of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, said that if the cuts as detailed in the budget document are adopted, services designed to ease the suffering of patients with diabetes, asthma, and other chronic conditions could be significantly curtailed. But Hunt said the potential reduction in state aid to community health centers would not result in any closings.

Stephen Smith can be reached at stsmith@globe.com.