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Beltrami County tells legislators state must address behavioral health funding, unfunded mandates and opioid allocation cuts
Summary
County officials warned legislators that state rule and funding changes are driving mounting costs for behavioral health care, child protection and foster placements, and asked for continued or new funding and statutory fixes.
Beltrami County leaders pressed Minnesota lawmakers on Jan. 7 to pursue funding and statutory fixes for behavioral health services and other state changes the county says carry large, unfunded fiscal impacts.
County Administrator Tom Barry outlined multiple concerns, including the behavioral health continuum of care, a looming end to a temporary two‑year moratorium on county payments for state‑run direct care, and funding shifts that reduced opioid‑response dollars Beltrami had relied on for neonatal and youth services.
Barry recounted a case in which the county was billed nearly $340,000 for one individual after state facility placement problems. “We ended up with a bill of almost $340,000…
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