Director calls for revised needs assessment, warns Medicaid funding shortfall; board approves contracts and millage awards

Director Michael Brashears told the board the annual state-required needs assessment does not capture the full service needs of Ottawa County and said he will send a revised, more useful version next year while sharing a new public dashboard that will show real‑time service and screening figures.

“We send it into cyberspace,” Brashears said of the current state report, adding that the agency will continue to submit the required data but will provide an enhanced attachment to communicate true needs, program capacity and suggested funding priorities to the state and regional partners.

Brashears also warned of a Medicaid funding shortfall. He told the board CMHOC currently projects a Medicaid deficit for the fiscal year and that the agency is preparing a formal report for the Lakeshore Regional Entity documenting its Medicaid funding needs. “The citizens of Ottawa County are not getting enough Medicaid revenue to meet the demand that we have,” he said, and he described advocacy goals to align Medicaid funding more closely with published prevalence and care‑need estimates.

On provider payments, staff told the board the state issued a mandatory rate increase for applied behavior analysis (ABA/autism) providers; the agency has executed contract amendments to pass the rate change through to affected providers and is monitoring utilization to determine whether the additional revenue covers the increased costs.

The board approved multiple contract amendments and new contracts at the meeting. Brashears described two categories of contract action: (a) contract amendments required because the state-mandated ABA rate increased and (b) new one‑time millage-funded awards that expand non‑Medicaid mental health capacity (social recreation, therapy for uninsured/moderate-need residents, housing support models and provider capacity building). The new millage contracts total roughly $1.1 million for one-time community expansions, Brashears said.

Amy Avery, finance staff, presented the month-to-date financials. The agency reported a year-to-date position that was over budget by about $1,040,000 through Feb. 28 (period five). Staff noted an active Medicaid deficit estimate and said it is monitoring revenue offsets, including regional and state-level adjustments. The board approved the financial statements by voice vote.

The board approved an opioid‑settlement pass‑through budget adjustment to fund renovations for a local recovery facility. The director said the pass‑through amount is $225,000 and the board approved the budget adjustment by voice vote.

On millage awards, the board voted to approve RFP selections and contracts that expand community services outside the Medicaid system — programs the director described as intentionally targeted to populations who are under‑ or uninsured and who would not otherwise be reached by Medicaid-funded services. Public commenters representing several newly funded providers said the awards will reduce wait lists and widen access for moderate‑need residents.

Several actions required roll‑call votes because of dollar thresholds. Board roll-call votes approved amended contracts (attachment F) and new contracts (including millage RFP awards); the board chair announced the roll-call tallies in the meeting and the motions carried.

The meeting included routine governance items: the board approved consent items, including a motion to empower the CEO to appoint a recording secretary for board administrative support, and authorized a nominating committee to prepare a slate of board officers for the next organizational meeting.