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Community Mental Health reports Medicaid deficit and pushes state funding equity as part of deficit strategy
Summary
Dr. Michael Bouchard updated the committee on Community Mental Health’s strategic planning and a projected Medicaid deficit, outlining cost‑control and revenue strategies including pursuing Medicaid funding equity from the state and adopting a new electronic medical record to recover lost revenue.
Dr. Michael Bouchard, director of Community Mental Health (CMH), told the committee the department expects a Medicaid deficit in fiscal reporting and presented a multi‑element deficit mitigation strategy that includes freezing positions, tighter utilization management, a new electronic medical record and advocacy for Medicaid funding equity from the state.
Bouchard said the department’s Medicaid deficit was narrower than an early estimate — about $4.7 million on a roughly $71 million budget — but warned that forecasting and revenue are controlled outside the county and that CMH cannot refuse mandated Medicaid services. "We actually are going to end a year in a Medicaid deficit ... it's about 4,700,000 out of a $71,000,000 budget," he said.
Among mitigation steps: a hiring freeze with case‑by‑case unfreezing for revenue‑generating positions; improved utilization management; and implementation of a new EMR system named "Auto" (PCE) that staff said should reduce manual fiscal reconciliation and recover seven figures in previously lost revenue. Bouchard said the EMR implementation alone could materially reduce fiscal leakage.
Bouchard also presented a "Medicaid equity initiative": he intends to ask the CMH board to back a campaign to request that the region and state adjust per‑person Medicaid allocations so Ottawa County receives funding comparable to other counties. "We are one of the lowest in the state," he said, and appealed to the committee for help identifying legislators for advocacy.
He also previewed a public data dashboard of service and crisis metrics and said recent crisis contacts showed a 67% diversion rate from hospitalization in December — above a reported state average of about 50% — citing crisis residential placements and partial‑hospitalization programs as alternatives.
Ending: Bouchard said CMH will bring additional reports on HR actions, EMR implementation and the Medicaid equity strategy, and asked the county to support legislative outreach to correct per‑member Medicaid funding disparities.
