Springfield Official Debunks Another Vance Claim

County health commissioner tells me "There's a lot wrong" with the previously unreported claim

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Clark County, OH, Health Commissioner Chris Cook, interviewed on April 16, 2024, by WDTN. (Screengrab / WDTN video.)

Springfield, OH, hospitals have been evacuated or locked down due to threats starting last week, after Republicans raised alarms about strained city services, including health care.

Two hospitals went into lockdown last week after receiving threats. Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) sent state police to help today after more than dozens of threats targeted public facilities.

Much of the public attention has focused on housing. Thousands of Haitian immigrants, in the country legally, have come to Springfield seeking work.

In public meetings this summer, city officials said they could have prepared for the influx if they had known companies were recruiting workers to come there. Some blamed the “greed” of “opportunist landlords” and “out-of-town” LLCs jacking up rents and evicting longtime residents in order to charge higher rents by illegally packing in Haitian newcomers.

The Haitians have also been blamed for crime — including the viral, false stories of eating pets — even though city officials characterize their new residents as law-abiding, contributing to the city’s growth.

So why target hospitals?

One under-reported aspect of right-wing lies about the Haitian impact on the city is the impact on health care. The implication is not merely that Haitians are a drain on the system, but that local government helps them too much.

That logic could explain why threats have targeted the very agencies already supposedly besieged by Haitians: The agencies are complicit by helping them.

Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) gave a speech on July 10 that amplified such claims about the city. Some of those have been reported, but some have not made the news.

I first reported yesterday that one of his claims was about health care in Clark County, where Springfield is the largest city and county seat.

“A third of the local county health budget is now tied up in giving free benefits to illegal immigrants,” Vance said.

Last night, Clark County’s top health official, Health Commissioner Chris Cook, responded to my inquiry about that claim.

I didn’t cite Vance, because the original source of the claim remains unclear. But Cook told me he’s heard it before, and that it’s false.

“There’s a lot wrong with that statement,” Cook told me. “It’s not accurate.”

Cook’s a Springfield native who won praise from his Republican predecessor for his “high moral and ethical standards.” His office, the Clark County Combined Health District (CCCHD) has about 100 staffers and works with a variety of community organizations.

Helping the new Haitian community has been a focus for Cook, local media have reported. Although Vance and former Pres. Donald Trump have blamed the Biden administration for the Haitian influx, in July Cook told the City Commission that the local increase began in 2020.

The CCCHD set up a Refugee Health Testing Clinic, the Springfield News-Sun reported.

The clinic provides a broad range of services; addressing acute and chronic conditions, offering vaccines and mental health services, and helping refugees navigate the overlapping government agencies and private entities that make up America’s byzantine health-care system.

But Cook pushed back on the claim Vance shared in his speech, that “a third” of the county budget goes to free services for “illegal immigrants,” a phrase that Cook took issue with. It’s not only considered offensive to label human beings “illegal,” in the case of Springfield, it’s not true.

“First and foremost, Haitians are not illegal immigrants,” Cook told me. But he also shot down Vance’s claim about the budget. “Second, other than Haitian Creole interpreters we don’t have staff dedicated to serving just one race with public health services.”

At a July meeting, Cook said CCCHD has six staff members who speak Haitian Creole.

In his email to me, Cook also suggested there are factual issues with Vance’s claim from a high-altitude perspective.

That’s because there is no county health budget. The CCCHD has a budget, but Cook said that, like all of Ohio’s county health departments, Clark’s is “not part of the county government.  We are a local independent subdivision of the state.”

Separately, the county budget also includes health-related expenses, such as $303 million for health and human services in the 2023 fiscal year. But there’s no breakout of services dedicated to refugees or immigrants.

And it’s not clear whether Vance was referring to the CCCHD or county budget. As Cook explained, “I think sometimes people confuse the local health department with job and family services that provide financial assistance, Medicaid, and food benefits.”

Vance also didn’t say where he got his information. The only source citation he offered in his speech was that he had just heard it:

“A third – I heard this yesterday – a third of the local county health budget is now tied up in giving free benefits to illegal immigrants. And, of course, the left will fact-check and say, ‘Well, they’re not illegal immigrants.’”

Elsewhere in his remarks, Vance acknowledged that he might be passing on false information. “It’s possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false.”

According to Cook, “No one is turned away from services, such as immunizations, due to inability to pay.” But he also said that’s not due solely to county expenditures.

“We utilize vaccines that we get from the state and federal government at no cost to serve those who are unable to pay,” Cook said. “We also use grant funds to cover those who cannot pay.”

In fact, he credited the Affordable Care Act (ACA) with shrinking the ranks of those who need free service. “That group that cannot pay is much smaller than it used to be prior to the ACA which covers vaccines.”

And the area’s new immigrant population has resources other than free county aid, Cook said. “As for our Haitian patients, they almost always have Medicaid or insurance — others pay cash for our services. If free services are administered, they are typically for children through special programs.”

Here’s Cook’s full email to me, in which I asked about the claim that “a third of the local county health budget is now tied up in giving free benefits to illegal immigrants.” and I included the link for reference to the county’s — not the CCCHD’s — FY2023 budget:

Hi Jonathan,

Interestingly enough, in Ohio local county health departments are not part of the county government.  We are a local independent subdivision of the state.  So what does all that mean?  It means the link to the county budget you sent does not include the Clark County Health Department.

I don’t know where that quote came from but I remember hearing it early on.  It’s not accurate.  There’s a lot wrong with that statement.  First and foremost, Haitians are not illegal immigrants.  Second, other than Haitian Creole interpreters we don’t have staff dedicated to serving just one race with public health services.  No one is turned away from services, such as immunizations, due to inability to pay.  We utilize vaccines that we get from the state and federal government at no cost to serve those who are unable to pay.  We also use grant funds to cover those who cannot pay.  That group that cannot pay is much smaller than it used to be prior to the ACA which covers vaccines.  There are other services that we offer on a sliding fee scale – such as reproductive health and wellness services.  For people who qualify we help connect them with Medicaid resources and then we “back bill” so to speak.  We look to pay for services from a payor whenever possible.  As for our Haitian patients, they almost always have Medicaid or insurance – others pay cash for our services.  If free services are administered, they are typically for children through special programs.

I think sometimes people confuse the local health department with job and family services that provide financial assistance, Medicaid, and food benefits.

If you have any other follow up questions, please let me know.

Chris

Chris Cook, MPH, REHS
Health Commissioner

Cook did not immediately respond to my followup questions, including when and where he first heard the false claims about free immigrant services, and whether he could quantify them relative to the CCCHD’s full budget.

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I’m a veteran journalist and TV news producer who’s worked at MSNBC, CNN, ABCNews, The Daily Show, Air America Radio, and TYT. You can support my independent reporting with a paid subscription to my Substack or with a donation.