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Eastern Iowa MHDS region outlines closeout plan as state system takes effect July 1
Summary
Laurie Elam, chief executive officer of the Eastern Iowa Mental Health and Disability Services region, told the Muscatine County Board of Supervisors on April 21 that House File 2673 requires regions to prepare a closeout plan because MHDS regions dissolve on June 30 as the state moves to a new behavioral-health system.
Laurie Elam, chief executive officer of the Eastern Iowa Mental Health and Disability Services (MHDS) region, told the Muscatine County Board of Supervisors on April 21 that House File 2673 requires regions to prepare a closeout plan because MHDS regions dissolve on June 30 as the state moves to a new behavioral-health system.
Elam said the closeout plan covers budgeting for claims that arrive after July 1, record retention, dissolution of the region's 28E intergovernmental agreement and a timeline for final audits and reports. "House File 2673 was passed and signed back in May of '24... because of the new system, we are required by HHS to have a closeout plan because the MHDS regions are ending June 30 of this year," Elam said.
The plan estimates a budget deficit; the document shows a projected shortfall of roughly $246,073 and notes the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) indicated it would assist regions that demonstrate a deficit in their plan. Elam said the closeout period runs July 1 through Dec. 31, during which the region must process late claims and produce a final reconciliation and audit for counties to approve. Providers will be asked to submit all claims by Aug. 31, Elam added.
Elam described steps for asset and staff transitions: because the region kept each county as its own employer of record, counties will decide local staff assignments; equipment and furniture remain with individual counties. The region is preparing a separate 28E for the mental-health advocate position and is awaiting HHS guidance on reimbursement and payment mechanics.
Board members asked about service navigation and the Administrative Services Organization (ASO) model that will provide service navigators and coordinators under the new system; Elam said hiring is underway and that the Department of Health and Human Services website will publish frequently asked questions and rules in mid-May. She cautioned counties there will be changes in service delivery and that rules still were in draft form. Elam said final reconciliation and a December governing-board action to dissolve the 28E are planned.
