Michigan still fighting about mental health funding

[TexasTowelie]

LANSING – Five weeks after the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services issued a report calling on physical and behavioral health Medicaid dollars to be managed separately, a state Senate panel has given DHHS a goal of fully integrating the funds by 2020.

The proposal, part of the 2018 budget, was loudly criticized by mental health advocates, who are concerned the private health management organizations in charge of physical health will not offer the same transparency or expertise as the public mental health groups who currently manage the behavioral health money.

"How many times do the executive and legislative branches have to hear that no one except the (HMOs) wants" the change, Mark Reinstein, president and CEO of the Mental Health Association in Michigan, said in a written statement last week.

HMOs, however, said the model will result in better care for the large percentage of Medicaid patients who have both physical and behavioral health needs and will save administrative costs.

Read more: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/capitol/2017/04/24/michigan-still-fighting-mental-health-funding/100559550/

[Kaleva]

1. There is a serious shortage of funding for mental health here in the UP

There are empty beds in Marqutte General because there isn't enough staff to care for patients who are waiting for treatment.