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Health department seeks retroactive approval for up to $10 million MOU to cover county obligations for state hospital stays
Summary
The Department of Public Health asked the San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ Government Audit and Oversight Committee on July 17 to retroactively approve a three‑party MOU to secure county access to California Department of State Hospitals and to authorize up to $10 million to cover San Francisco’s obligations for state hospital placements.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health asked the Government Audit and Oversight Committee on July 17 to approve a retroactive memorandum of understanding that formalizes county processes and payments for patients placed in California Department of State Hospitals.
Drew Murrell, chief financial officer at the Department of Public Health, told the committee the three‑party MOU — among the Department of State Hospitals, the California Mental Health Services Authority (CalMHSA/CALMESA) and San Francisco DPH — sets admission policy, rates and a monthly reconciliation process for state hospital beds required under state law. The clerk’s item described the MOU as running retroactively from Oct. 1, 2023, through June 30, 2025, and as authorizing obligations not to exceed $10,000,000.
Legal and administrative context Murrell said the MOU addresses obligations required by state statute for county reimbursement to state hospitals and that CalMHSA negotiates rates and processes on behalf of counties. Because the funding and agreement terms required coordination between city, state and a joint powers authority, finalizing the MOU involved lengthy discussions between multiple legal and contracting offices; DPH completed its administrative packet in early June and requested retroactive committee approval.
Committee action After brief questions, the committee voted 3–0 to forward the resolution to the full Board of Supervisors with a positive recommendation.
What to watch next The committee asked the department to supply any final executed MOU and to note how the $10,000,000 ceiling will be expensed and reported through the city’s regular budget and reporting channels.
