Merger of 2 Agencies
Advocates for the mentally ill were shocked by the Board of Supervisors’ 3 to 2 decision to merge mental health with welfare and create a new Human Services Agency on April 7.
The supervisors hired the consulting firm of Deloitte & Touche to study the issue. The firm raised serious questions about Medicare / Medi-Cal reimbursement and the possible loss of millions of dollars if the license were moved from the Health Care Agency. As a result of that study the county [chief] administrative officer recommended that mental health care remain under the Health Care Agency.
The chief administrative officer’s recommendation was not even mentioned at the April 7 board meeting, much less discussed. Still unresolved in the minds of many are the questions of licensing, potential loss of revenue and further minimizing the care of the mentally ill.
We think this matter should be returned to the board for a reconsideration.
LOU MATTHEWS, President, Alliance for the Mentally Ill, Ventura
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