Health department mulls price hike

    Many of the Ford County Health Department's roughly 10,000 clients may see a jump in prices in everything from vaccines to physicals.
    The proposed price increases, which echo the tighter financial situation seen by many throughout the country, comes as an attempt to meet the rising cost of supplies while still offering an affordable service, officials said.
    Angela Elder, head of the Ford County Health Department, said the county would not make any profits from raising the cost of services. Rather, they were looking at raising prices to keep even.
    "The cost of vaccines have gone up," Elder said. "We just want to make it so we can cover our costs."
    The department is also looking at upping costs for day care licenses. There are more than 100 licensed day cares in Ford County, according to numbers supplied by the health department.
    The cost for physicals may also jump, with the health department looking at raising the cost of a kindergarten physical from $50 to $70.
    Again, Elder reiterated that the proposed increases were an effort to break even.
    "We haven't done anything to our prices since 2006," she said.
    Elder said she was hoping to present the Ford County Commission with a new list of prices on Monday. From there, the price increases would go into effect within the following week.
    The health department, which offers services ranging from school physicals to sexual transmitted disease and HIV testing, provided a necessary service for those in the area, Elder said.
    And although a solid price increase hasn't been set, Elder said she felt they would be reasonable.
    The department does not require insurance, which allows those who are either underinsured or completely uninsured to receive basic treatments at a cheaper price.
    Women, Infants and Children, a federal program which provides foods, health and nutrition education to low-income mothers, is also administered through the health department.
    The health department's patients tend to range from lower-income families and those without insurance to some of Dodge City's upper echelon, Elder said. The county supplements the department's programs with roughly $250,000 a year. The remaining $350,000 of the department's budget comes from grants.
    The proposed price increases look likely to get the nod from the commission come Monday.
    Ford County Commissioner John Swayze said he had no objection to raising prices for the health department’s services.
    "I think its something we've got to do," he said. "The cost is going up. We've just got to change to make it work."

Reach Mark Vierthaler at (620) 408-9932 or e-mail him at mark.vierthaler@dodgeglobe.com.