Steve Metzer
Tulsa World Capitol Bureau Staff Writer
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OKLAHOMA CITY — A veteran provider of mental health services in the Tulsa area and a Tulsa lawmaker have expressed concerns about cuts to contracts for services announced recently by the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
The cuts were referenced by the department’s interim commissioner, Gregory Slavonic, in recent comments he made assessing his first 90 days on the job.
Many providers of drug treatment and mental health services were first notified in letters dated Aug. 29 of plans made by the ODMHSAS to save $40 million through “cost optimization” by canceling or reducing contracts.
Rep. Suzanne Schreiber, D-Tulsa, said a course correction at the Mental Health Department was needed, “but not to the detriment of extremely vulnerable individuals’ care being disrupted.”
“Honestly, that puts everyone at risk,” she said. “When as a state we are having an important conversation about unsheltered community members, we need to make sure every mental health and substance abuse service and bed is available right now.”
Issues related to homelessness have been hotly debated recently after Gov. Kevin Stitt ordered the Department of Public Safety to clear homeless encampments on state property in Tulsa. It has been reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association that some two-thirds of people who are chronically homeless may suffer from some form of mental illness.
“It’s important for us all to understand how $40 million-plus being eliminated from the system will not cause significant disruption to immediate care,” Schreiber said.
The lawmaker said she worried about ramifications of contracts being cut in the Tulsa area justified by similar services being provided in other parts of the state.
“Saying this service is not available here, but you can go get in line with everyone else where a similar service … is still provided, is effectively a cut of a service the individual and society both desperately need,” she said. “It’s a mental health and substance abuse issue, but it’s also an economic and public safety issue.”
Schreiber said it might have made more sense for the ODMHSAS to put cuts on hold and seek additional funding. Other lawmakers, including Rep. Mark Lawson, R-Sapulpa, who chaired a committee that earlier this year examined issues at the mental health department, have said that they would like to have a chance to review the planned cuts and potentially consider a supplemental appropriation.
A time of increased need for care
Muskogee-based Green Country Behavioral Health Services CEO Joy Sloan, who is also president of the eight-member Alliance of Mental Health Providers of Oklahoma, said Oklahomans should be concerned about how the cuts might end up hurting people in need of care.
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Sloan said she believes Slavonic inherited an agency that had spiraled out of control after 18 months under the leadership of previous Commissioner Allie Friesen and her executive team.
Friesen was terminated by the Legislature over the objection of Stitt after she reported a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall but wasn’t able to help much in pinpointing either the origin of problems or exactly how much money would be needed to put the agency back on course.
Sloan said she believes Slavonic has been honest and forthright in his dealings with service providers.
However, Sloan said providers have already been underfunded for years and will not be able to withstand substantial cuts in contracts. She expressed fear that Oklahomans may not be able to get some critically needed mental health care or services to help them deal with substance abuse or addiction. This comes at a time, she added, of rising needs and of more people being in need of heightened levels of care for acute illnesses.
“At some point, we have to decide as a state what we want mental health care to look like,” Sloan said. “I would hope that we would want funding to be able to provide for the array of services that people need.”
In his comments, Slavonic said he concluded after the 90-day review that the ODMHSAS faltered after more than a decade of overspending aggravated by poor financial management and bookkeeping. He said that “core services” provided by the department will be preserved.
“The agency has long provided more services than its budget could support,” he said. “Our hearts were bigger than our wallet.”
Slavonic said nearly 800 contracts were subjected to a “line-by-line” review before letters were sent to providers informing them of cuts. Some contracts weren’t renewed either because funding for them had expired or they were determined to be “non-essential” or redundant, he said.
Action also was taken to eliminate 23 executive positions at ODMHSAS, for an annual payroll savings of $3.5 million. A new chief financial officer, Ben Scott, was hired to conduct monthly financial reviews of the department along with the Office of Management and Enterprise Services.
Slavonic said the decisions made regarding service provider contracts should not have any effect on patient access to core clinical services. Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics supporting all 77 counties remain operational, he said, as well as the state’s 988 Mental Health Lifeline.
He said achieving long-term stability will require structural reform, including the adoption of “modern” financial and accounting practices to regulate spending and safeguard resources. Additionally, he said an electronic health data system is needed to bring greater efficiency to operations.
Slavonic noted that before his arrival, State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd and the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency had already done work to help the ODMHSAS get back in track, and his team immediately went about implementing their recommendations.
“We are very pleased to see ODMHSAS cooperating with the State Auditor’s office to solve its longstanding issues,” Byrd said in a statement. “State agencies can only be effective if they are financially sound. It is encouraging to see these reforms because it means ODMHSAS can now put greater focus on providing services to Oklahomans. I will always applaud any state agency that takes our audit reports seriously, implements our recommendations, and protects the taxpayers.”
steve.metzer@tulsaworld.com
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Steve Metzer
Tulsa World Capitol Bureau Staff Writer
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