SAMHSA Weekly Financing News Pulse February 10, 2010

Weekly Financing News Pulse
State and Local Edition February 10, 2010
Download the Complete News Pulse (300 KB)
http://samhsa.gov/Financing/file.axd?file=2010%2f2%2fWeekly+Financing+News+Pulse+State+and+Local+Edition+final+20100210.pdf


Inside This Issue – News

Nevada Governor Proposes Budget Cuts, Mental Health Affected
On February 8, Governor Jim Gibbons (R) proposed $328 million in cuts to begin closing the state’s $881 million deficit. Governor Gibbons has proposed eliminating housing assistance for the mentally ill; capping enrollment in housing assistance programs for the mentally disabled; reducing reimbursement rates to psychiatric facilities in rural areas; cutting reimbursements for psychiatric facilities for youths; reducing capacity at some psychiatric hospitals; and cutting funding for autism treatment. Together, the cuts would save the state $12.7 million. In addition to mental health cuts, the governor proposed numerous other cuts to the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, including cuts to the state’s Medicaid program.



Study Finds New Hampshire Community Mental Health Centers Lack Financial Reserves
A New Hampshire Endowment for Health study examined the 6-year financial health of 10 community mental health centers. The study found that, though none of the centers experienced acute financial problems over the 6-year period, most lack sufficient financial reserves to cope with substantial operating losses. The study found that the 10 centers had a combined $150 million in revenue for fiscal year 2009, with Medicaid accounting for 75 percent of their revenue and 85 percent of their patient load.



Update: Tennessee DMHDD Faces $9.4 Million in Cuts
As a result of Governor Phil Bredesen’s (D) proposed budget, the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities (DMHDD) is facing a $9.4 million budget cut. The governor’s proposed Medicaid cuts compound direct DMHDD funding reductions, though DMHDD officials note that it is difficult to project the effects of the Medicaid cuts until the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services officially approves the changes. Under the proposed budget, DMHDD will preserve $21.5 million to fund the Behavioral Health Safety Net, which provides mental health services to severely mentally ill residents who do not qualify for TennCare, the state’s Medicaid program.



UM Researcher Updates Montana’s Projected Alcohol Abuse Costs
A new University of Montana (UM) report finds that alcohol-related crashes leading to injuries but not deaths cost the state $131 million annually. Combined with an earlier estimate finding that other alcohol-related costs, including lost productivity, treatment, health care costs, and vehicle fatalities, cost the state $511 million annually, the state’s alcohol-related costs total $642 million annually.