Riverwood CEO warns state rebid could upend local mental‑health services

Rick Compton, chief executive officer of Riverwood Center, the community mental‑health authority serving Berrien County, told the Berrien County Board of Commissioners that a Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) rebid threatens “the current community mental‑health system in Michigan and to Riverwood.”

Compton said MDHHS announced the rebid over Memorial Day and plans to consolidate the current 10 PIHP (prepaid inpatient health plan) regions into three regions, shifting management from public PIHPs such as Southwest Michigan Behavioral Health (SWMBH) to private managed‑care organizations including Blue Cross Blue Shield and other large plans. He said MDHHS has set an effective date of Oct. 1, 2026 for the new contracts.

The change would, Compton told the commissioners, end local PIHP functions in Berrien County and convert Riverwood from an entity that both pays and manages services to primarily a direct service provider that must contract with whichever private plans win the bids. "We will no longer be a payer of services to providers," Compton said. "We'll no longer manage…