The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department will move its pharmacy services to private providers and discontinue its in-house blood-drawing and other specialty services as it prepares for a leaner annual budget.

The moves follow a 5-0 vote from the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, when Public Health officials presented service cuts during the board’s last budget meeting before the current fiscal year ends.

The next fiscal year begins on July 1 and runs until June 30, 2027.

The department is facing budget problems because of funding cuts at both the state and federal levels. Public Health and other departments were asked to make cuts ahead of next fiscal year’s budget.

Part of the cuts includes eliminating its in-house phlebotomy services, or blood drawing. Instead, the services will be shifted to outside providers Quest Diagnostics and Pacific Diagnostic Laboratories.

The change is expected to save the department $530,000 per year.

The loss of services will primarily impact Santa Maria and Lompoc.

Public Health Director Mouhanad Hammami said new providers, which are all within two miles of the county health centers, still will offer a sliding pay scale to patients.

He added that the outside providers also will be able to offer more consistent hours to patients since they have longer business hours.

The department also will discontinue specialty services, such as nephrology, urology, neurology and gastroenterology specialty services at the Santa Barbara Clinic.

Discontinuing those services will reduce annual costs by $231,000.

Patients now will be referred to specialists in the CenCal Health network. County teams are working with patients to assist with coordinating appointments, transferring medical records and transition-of-care support.

Hammami told the board that those services are available in county clinics for only about four hours a month for a small group of patients.

He added that many of the specialists who are in charge of the hours confirmed that they are willing to see those same patients at their private practices under the same sliding pay scale.

Public Health will also make changes to its pharmacies. Patients will now need to use other local pharmacies or the Lompoc Health Care Center Pharmacy for their medications.

Medication for uninsured patients or those with limited finances will have their prescriptions filled at the Lompoc Health Care Center and delivered for pickup to Santa Barbara and Santa Maria.

Pharmacy services at Franklin and Carpinteria Health Care Centers will not be affected by the changes.

The changes are expected to save the county $8.46 million annually.

Despite moving to private providers, Hammami confirmed that patients still will pay the same prices at pharmacies such as Walgreens.

Additionally, he said there are multiple Walgreens pharmacies within a few miles of the county’s health centers.

“While some of these changes will be discontinued, (these) changes will offer more choices, better hours and more reliable access to many patients through expanded community partnerships,” Hammami said.

During public comment, Leo Decasaus, a field representative for the Service Employees International Union, spoke out against the cuts.

Decasaus criticized using outside companies to fulfill prescription services, saying there is no guarantee they will continue to honor the sliding payment scale.

He also spoke out against the county laying off pharmacy technicians.  

“While we understand and sympathize with the county facing budget constraints, shifting care outward and reducing these services does not eliminate the need,” Decasaus said. “It shifts the burden onto our most vulnerable residents, our most vulnerable patients, and creates uncertainty.”

Supervisor Steve Lavagnino said he supported the changes to the county health centers, but he also asked for a report back on the department’s outreach efforts.

“I’m just trying to make sure no one falls through the cracks,” Lavagnino said.

The county has launched a 24-hour information line to keep residents informed. It can be reached at 805.681.5100.