COLUMBIA--Directors from three of South Carolina's health agencies made budget pitches to Gov. Mark Sanford on Thursday, offering ideas on how to cut state spending while asking for more money to pay for key programs.

It was the latest round of hearings the new governor has held since the end of the legislative session to understand the needs and priorities of agencies as the state faces another bleak budget year.

After meeting with officials from the departments of Health and Human Services, Social Services and Health and Environmental Control, Sanford said one goal is to provide better health care for South Carolinians.

Too many caseworkers from different agencies are visiting individuals on Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for the poor and disabled, just one of many service duplications in state agencies, the governor said.

"We believe very strongly in having a medical home and a primary care physician being assigned, so that somebody knows the big picture of what's going on with this person's life with regard to their physical and mental health needs."

He said a growing frustration is that different parts of government don't know what the other is doing.

Sanford grilled the leaders of DHEC about its divergent mission, asking what were the synergies of having health and environment under the same agency.

DHEC Commissioner Earl Hunter said the agency's mission is to protect the public's health through environmental regulations, testing and prevention.

Hunter said Medicaid payments make up just $32 million of DHEC's nearly $500 million budget. The state Legislature allocates about $106 million of the agency's annual budget, and the rest comes from revenue the agency generates and federal funds.

Hunter said his agency could cut programs like beach surf monitoring and tanning bed and swimming pool inspections to save money.

Health and Human Services chief Robert Kerr said his agency is again faced with trying to find $170 million to fund its current Medicaid services. There is no specific source of funds to pay for the state's portion of the program's cost. That money is allocated each year by state lawmakers.

Kerr said his agency, which has a budget of more than $3 billion in state and federal funds, will look at changes in eligibility to curb growth in Medicaid costs.

At DSS, which has cut almost 400 employees since January and plans to cut 250 more in September, Director Kim Aydlette is faced with a deficit because the agency needs $8.8 million for a federally required child-support enforcement system.

The state has to pay $10.8 million in penalties for not having a system up and running.