2/28/14 Lower fees to hit health district bottom line

  • By Nick Sabo
  • February 28, 2014
  • 369
                        
SUMMARY: Ohio Department of Health sets inspection lower in 2014 The Holmes County Health District will have to eat some of its costs for inspections after the Ohio Department of Health adjusted their fee schedule lower. Holmes County Health Commissioner Dr. D.J. McFadden said Friday Feb. 28 that inspection fees for 2014 will actually be lower than 2013. McFadden said the reason for the decrease is a cost methodology used by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). The cost methodology determines fees based on the health district’s expenses when carrying out inspections. The ODH then sets maximum rates of reimbursement for an inspection to the health district based on that cost. Costs have dropped because the health district has cut back two positions in environmental health due to budget constraints. Fewer inspectors means fewer hours billed for inspections, McFadden said. And, inspectors are limited to the number of hours that can be considered in the methodology. Ironically, Finding savings by cutting employees is costing the health district money through lower fees. The fees are not meant to cover all costs, McFadden said, but the new, adjusted amounts are well below the actual cost of doing the inspections. “As we staff down, our fees go down because we don’t have the hours in the program,” McFadden said. “We’re being penalized by the cost methodology.” New RV park and swimming pool licenses presented to the health board at their monthly meeting are indicative of how the methodology will affect fees. As per the ODH, the maximum amount the health district can charge to inspect and license a RV park in 2014 is $273.17, $126.87 less than last year’s $400 fee. Swimming pool fees were $440 in 2013; ODH’s maximum allowable amount is $182.02. McFadden has recommended the health board approve fees of $273 for RV parks and $182 for pools. Fewer inspectors has also meant fewer inspections, McFadden said. The health district has been able to meet minimum standards set by the state. “We are very close. We are meeting the state minimum standards,” McFadden said. “The state minimum does not mean public health is being protected.” The health board voted Feb. 28 to hire another employee for environmental health. Adding the employee will up costs, McFadden said, which in turn should increase the cost methodology. In the mean time, McFadden said, the health district will have to pay more out of its own pocket to cover the true cost of inspection.


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