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State hospitals accredited; DHW seeks $2.6M for civil-commitment costs as commitments rise

2490442 · January 20, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Department of Health and Welfare officials told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee that all three state psychiatric hospitals have achieved accreditation and that the department is seeking a $2.6 million one‑time supplemental to cover increased civil‑commitment expenditures after a 2022 law shifted those costs to the state.

Department of Health and Welfare officials told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee that all three state psychiatric hospitals — State Hospital North (Orofino), State Hospital South (Blackfoot) and State Hospital West (Nampa) — have achieved accreditation and have begun billing Medicaid, producing federal receipts that reduce general-fund needs.

Director Alex Adams and Ross Edmonds, administrator for the Division of Behavioral Health, described ongoing pressures tied to civil commitments and a surge in commitments to restore criminal defendants’ competency. Adams said State Hospital West has billed about $1.6 million and received roughly $1.3 million in Medicaid receipts after accreditation and that the hospitals’…

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