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Dear
friends and neighbors,
Many
members of our community are understandably worried about losing mental health
services. Jackson County Mental Health, the public agency that provided these
services to Oregon Health Plan members in the past, has lost its contracts.
Clients and their families fear that they must change providers or face a gap
in services.
I
am certain that we will continue to provide high quality mental health services
to residents of Jackson County and expand these services so that more people
will get the help they need. Achieving this will require a realistic assessment
of our current situation plus a lot of hard work. We can do both.
First
of all, who are the players in this drama? In Oregon, those of us who qualify
for federally funded Medicaid health care, including mental health services, are
enrolled in Oregon Health Plan (OHP), a public health insurance plan governed
by Oregon Health Authority (OHA). OHP assigns a network of Coordinated Care
Organizations (CCOs) to manage and pay for these services. Two CCOs, Jackson Care Connect (a nonprofit)
and AllCare (a public benefit corporation) serve residents of Jackson
County.
Last
year, after careful study, our CCOs concluded that many Jackson County
residents who qualify for OHP and who require mental services are going
untreated. Both of these organizations decided to renegotiate their contracts
with Jackson County Mental Health. The goal of both organizations was to ensure
that more Jackson County residents will receive needed services.
Obviously
the performance of Jackson County Mental Health was a sensitive and politically
volatile issue. Nevertheless, AllCare and Jackson County Connect had no choice.
They are legally obligated to spend OHP dollars efficiently and to serve as
many Jackson County residents as possible. To ignore the very low utilization
of Jackson County Mental Health services would have been irresponsible. AllCare
and JCC knew that many of our neighbors who need help are going without it. Something
had to change.
The
two CCOs adopted different strategies. JCC decided that they would not renew
their contract with JCMH. Instead they would build a new relationship with
Columbia Care. AllCare chose to
renegotiate its contract with JCMH. Their plan was to contract with JCMH to
serve a significant number of clients and to identify providers at other
locations throughout the county to serve others. The County refused this offer, leaving many
OHP members in limbo. The AllCare offer
to JCMH is still on the table.
As
a legislator representing Southern Oregon, my number one job is to defend the
interests of our community at the state level. I have been in regular communication
with Oregon Health Authority with regard to the meltdown of JCMH contracts with
the CCOs. I am especially concerned about the transition of services to other
providers. Last week, OHA issued letters
to AllCare and JCMH strongly encouraging both entities to negotiate a longer, better
planned transition. OHA also stated that
it intends to monitor AllCare through this transition to ensure that clients receive
proper care.
Fortunately, at this
time it looks like the County and AllCare will be able to agree on an extension
through June 30.
I
have strongly encouraged AllCare to be fully transparent and available to the
public. In response, the organization
held two public meetings last week to answer questions about their plans. I
attended both. The good news is that
AllCare is committed to build a strong, decentralized mental health system that
will provide care to people in accessible settings such as community clinics, crisis
nurseries and other places where mental health clients already receive
services. By distributing providers
throughout the community, AllCare is confident that more people will receive
services and that all our OHP dollars will be invested wisely. AllCare has stated that it will spend all the
dollars currently directed to JCMH — plus additional money — to fund the
decentralized system.
The
termination of the JCMH contracts has created turmoil and anxiety in our
community. No one, including clients, providers, the CCOs and County
administrators, wanted this to happen. The transition to a new network of
providers will require careful planning and close attention to the needs of the
individuals who receive services. But we must quickly move beyond the rancor
and distrust that resulted from the failure of negotiations between the
entities involved. All of them are funded by the public and charged with
serving the public interest. Addressing the needs of mental health clients
should be their foremost concern.
What
happens now? Clearly, we need a longer transition period. Mediation between the entities could also be
very useful. I’m hopeful that pressure from OHA and elected representatives
like me can help align the various parties to this unfortunate situation. Above all, we must continue to focus on the
needs of our mental health clients as we create an excellent system of care.
This
is an extraordinarily complex issue. I have touched on just a few aspects of it. Please contact me via phone or email if you wish
to offer more thoughts or an alternative perspective.
Best
regards,
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1405
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-375, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.PamMarsh@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/marsh
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/representativepammarsh
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