Board Delays Mental Health Services Plan

After being warned by federal officials of possible legal troubles, county supervisors on Tuesday delayed their decision on how to restructure the sprawling Human Services Agency until it can find a way to legally shift control of the mental health services department from the county hospital to welfare officials.

“We had no choice,” Supervisor John Flynn said.

“Our decision was based on a letter from the federal government that said they wouldn’t accept the arrangement we had proposed.”

The board will take up the matter again at its Oct. 13 meeting.

In the interim, Flynn said, he hopes a path can be found that will allow the county to go ahead with the restructuring in a way that will satisfy the U.S. Health Care Financing Administration.

Federal officials warned last week that the county could lose as much as $15 million annually in Medicare and Medi-Cal payments for treating psychiatric patients if the restructuring were to proceed as planned.

Health Care Financing Administration officials said because the county’s license to provide mental health services is linked to the Ventura County Medical Center, the shift of control to an oversight committee and ultimately the board placed the plan on shaky legal ground.

“The next step is to meet with [federal officials] to see if the board’s plan and their requirements can be satisfied in any way,” said county counsel Jim McBride.

“There are other models out there, but it’s finding one that meets all those requirements that has to be done now.”

Flynn said he is hoping that meetings can be scheduled with federal officials in the weeks before the board’s Oct. 13 meeting to see what can be done regarding restructuring.

“What I want to know from the federal government is what’s possible,” he said.

“I want to know how we can achieve our goal with their support.”