In 1946 the federal government passed the first specialized categorical program to aid health care, the Hill-Burton program for hospital related facilities; in subsequent years additional programs for mental health, developmental disabilities, alcoholism, and drug abuse were also funded. Each of these programs required that state governors designate a state agency to implement the federal legislation and that an annual state plan be prepared. The majority of the categorical programs also required the establishment of an advisory council.
In 1966 the federal government passed the Comprehensive Health Planning and Public Health Services Act which required that a single agency in each state be designated in order that health planning could become more comprehensive. As a result, in 1967 the Division of Health in DHSS and its newly-created Office of Comprehensive Health Planning was designated as the state agency to implement comprehensive health planning legislation (the “A” agency). At the same time Governor Knowles created the Advisory Comprehensive Health Planning Council to advise the agency on its health planning activities.
The council included representatives from state agencies, local agencies, and non-governmental organizations concerned with health care. Because the categorical advisory structure remained intact, the council also included representatives of these programs. The council was organized into six technical subcommittees (Environmental Health, Health Data, Health Facilities, Health Manpower, and Organization and Administration of Local Public Health Services).
In order to avoid duplication, the work of this committee was halted when Governor Lucey created the Governor's Health Policy and Planning Task Force and the Health Policy and Program Council in 1971. At this time HPPC formally assumed the advisory function of individual categorical program councils.
