URGENT! New Mexicans Fight to Save Behavioral Health

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Contact: Christi Fields at (505) 604-0221, or Christi_Fields@hotmail.com.                

URGENT!

NEW MEXICANS FIGHTING TO

Save Behavioral Health

Santa Fe, NM (August 14, 2013)  A broad-based coalition of citizens has launched a major public awareness campaign attacking the State's efforts to shut down New Mexico's behavioral health providers and shift their control to Arizona companies. "New Mexicans Fighting to Save Behavioral Health", is composed of health advocates, behavioral health providers and clients, state legislators, lobbyists, and influential private citizens.

The State Human Services Division (NMHSD) has mandated the closure of fourteen agencies, alleging mismanagement. The agencies represent nearly 90% of the State's entire behavioral health services system. The system provides services to individuals and families suffering from mental illness and substance abuse. Many in this vulnerable population are Hispanics and Native Americans. The shutdown will potentially affect 30,000 clients and their families throughout New Mexico, jeopardizing the jobs of thousands of caregivers.

None of the targeted agencies has received results of the audits conducted by HSD alleging fraud, effectively denying them due process. Multiple requests to review these results have been denied. The State has turned over the audit results to the NM Attorney General's Office. A spokesperson there has said it "could take as long as a year" to reveal the results. An HSD spokesperson has been quoted as saying that “…even if an agency is exonerated by the Attorney General, it will not result in a reinstatement.  The transition of services to Arizona is not temporary – it

is permanent.”
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NMHSD is effectively abandoning New Mexico's behavioral health system in favor of out-of-state companies, even though many of the New Mexico providers have long-standing relationships with the communities they serve. Closure could have significant economic impact on many of the State's rural towns and villages. Two of New Mexico's provider agencies have already been closed and transitioned to Arizona companies, and several others are threatened with closure within the next few weeks. 

In the face of (yet to be revealed) evidence of fiscal mismanagement by some New Mexico agencies, the State is preparing to pay nearly $18 million to the Arizona firms, whose top executives will be paid $250-$300 an hour for their services during the transition period.  According to Patrick Tyrrell, a member of the coalition: “We do not condone fraud or mismanagement of any kind, and are fully in support of legitimate efforts to root them out.  But, we need to know where they exist in order to correct the problems.”
The bi-partisan New Mexico Health and Human Services Committee of the New Mexico Legislature has joined the fight, urging swift action by the federal Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to resolve a crisis that may soon become irreversible.

For more information, or to interview members of the coalition, behavioral health providers and/or their clients, contact: contact Christi Fields at (505) 604-0221, or Christi_Fields@hotmail.com.  Donations to support the awareness campaign are tax deductible, and will be gratefully accepted.  Contributions may be sent to: New Mexicans Fighting to Save Behavioral Health, c/o RFC Policy Works. P.O. Box 8602, Santa Fe, NM 87504, rfcpolicyworks@gmail.com.

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