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County staff urges caution: Clatsop’s behavioral health pass-through contract with OHA remains unsigned
Summary
County staff and community behavioral health partners told commissioners they will not sign a proposed CMHP contract with the Oregon Health Authority without changes to liability and payment language; counties and community providers warned of financial risk if they assume responsibility without guaranteed state funding.
Assistant County Manager Monica Steele briefed the board on protracted negotiations over the county’s contract posture with the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) for coordinated behavioral-health services (CMHP). Steele said counties, community behavioral health organizations (CBHs), and the Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) have been discussing contract language for over a year and that several provisions remain unaddressed — most notably terms related to financial liability and retroactive payments.
Why it matters: The county passes state funds to a community behavioral-health provider (CBH) that operates services locally. Steele said the provider has reserves and a braided funding stream that could temporarily cover services if a contract is not signed on July 1, but that counties are concerned about taking on downstream financial liability if OHA does not resolve payment or oversight language.
Steele told the board that CBH leaders asked counties not to sign the OHA contract as drafted and that CBH offered to use reserves to maintain services if a contract remained unsigned; once a contract is signed, Steele said, the state would make retroactive payments and those reserves would be replenished. Commissioners and staff said the matter is likely to be raised with the governor’s office; AOC planned a meeting with the governor the next day and would represent county concerns. Commissioners emphasized they did not want to assume open-ended liability for state-ordered compliance or fines related to statewide facility or hospital deficiencies.
Commissioner Thompson noted that OHA’s challenges at the state level — including contempt findings and fines for state facilities — increase the risk counties would inherit financial obligations by signing unchanged contract language. County staff affirmed they would continue to coordinate with AOC and with CBH leadership and return to the board with updates after the governor-level meeting.
Steele added that CBH’s service delivery is supported by multiple funding streams and by reserves, and that retroactive payments from OHA — if a contract is signed later — would reimburse CBH for some costs. Commissioners pressed staff for continued visibility and requested that staff avoid signing any contract that effectively shifts state-level financial and legal risks to the county.
