LINCOLN — The chairman of the Advisory Council on Behavioral Health Services asked Gov. Jim Pillen in a candid letter Tuesday to abandon a proposed $15 million cut in funding for mental health services.
Such relief would be personal, Omaha resident Tim Heller wrote. He has a son who suffers from severe and persistent mental illness.
Heller argued that properly funding such services could reduce spending on emergency room visits, homelessness and prisons, which are among the state's top mental health facilities. did.
It could also avoid some violent incidents involving people with untreated behavioral health needs, he said.
“It's not the time to cut it.”
“Now is not the time to cut the budget,” Heller said in an open letter to the governor shared with the Examiner.
Referring to the shootings in Omaha and the fatal shooting of an armed man inside a Target store in West Omaha, he said, “There is no longer Robert Hawkins (von Maur), Joseph Jones (Target), Zachary Baer. We don't need heels,” he wrote. In this case, Bear Heels died in a struggle with Omaha police during a mental health crisis.
Heller, along with members of the Nebraska Association of Behavioral Health Organizations, is calling for a reversal of the Pillen administration's decision to cut $15 million from behavioral health spending.
They believe Nebraska has many unmet needs for people with mental illnesses, and funding cuts have reduced or eliminated services and emergency visits to hospitals to address mental health crises. and requests to law enforcement agencies could increase.
“Without this funding, the impact will only ripple. All of these people will end up in the emergency room or in solitary confinement.” Tami Lewis Arendt, chief operating officer of the Lincoln-based company Center point.
She said CenterPoint's own assistance programs for homeless people on the streets would be at risk, as would any planned assistance programs.Family Resource and Crisis Center of Lincoln.
Programs may be reduced and waiting lines may increase
In Grand Island, there is a waiting list of 60 people for outpatient substance abuse counseling at the Mid Plains Behavioral Health Services Center, and officials fear the list will grow without sufficient funding.
In Omaha, The 46-bed CenterPoint Campus for Hope is only able to operate 26 patient beds due to staff shortages, has a list of 80 people waiting for beds, and has lost jobs and services due to funding cuts. There are concerns that it may be damaged.
“We know that the need exists, and that the need is growing. But it feels like we're finally starting to turn a corner, and now it's being torn out from under us. “I'm trying to do that,” he said. Chase Frankl, CEO of Mid Plains Center.
Pillen administration officials defended the cuts, saying they represent unspent funds accumulated after Medicaid expansion reduced patient co-payments and costs to local behavioral health providers. .
“Correct sizing”
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Jeff Powell said the state has unspent balances of $35 million and $27 million over the past two fiscal years. Even with the $15 million cut, about $30 million would remain this year, Powell said.
“Existing allocations to the behavioral health sector are sufficient to meet existing needs,” Powell said.
Lee Will, the governor's top budget official, agreed, calling the cuts more “right-sizing” than cuts. He said additional needs could be addressed in future budgets, if needed.
Annette Dubas, president of the Behavioral Health Association, and other members of the organization disagreed.
Medicaid doesn't cover everything
They said Medicaid expansion has reduced cases, but that doesn't mean all needs have been met.
Additionally, she said Medicaid does not cover all services, citing a program in Lincoln where mental health professionals accompany police officers on some calls and a 24/7 crisis hotline.
Officials with the state's behavioral health region say the state's application for approval of the new program is moving slowly, taking more than 500 days, resulting in an artificial budget surplus. ing.
Additionally, some approved programs are not yet off the ground, and as a result, the funds may not yet be used as intended, and may appear to be unspent.
One example is a $10 million “crisis stabilization center” planned for Sarpy County. The 16-bed facility is designed to care for people in crisis as an alternative to jail or emergency rooms.
“This is not fully off the ground yet, but the funding is in the budget,” he said. Patti Jurjevich, Administrator Region 6 Behavioral Health Services.
The $15 million cut is already included in the interim budget prepared by the Legislature's Appropriations Committee. But behavioral health service providers are hoping the commission will reconsider.
Members of the Appropriations Committee recently began work on crafting the final state budget, which will later be debated by the full Legislature.
Heller, a parent and director of the State Advisory Council on Behavioral Health, said Nebraska ranks low in providing behavioral health services, according to a recent ranking by the Virginia-based Treatment Advocacy Center. He said it has earned a “D” grade.
“This is not the 'good life,'” he told the governor. “We can do better, but not by cutting the budget.”
