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Local mental-health provider urges lawmakers to reject provider-rate cuts, backs CCBHCs and telehealth
Summary
KeyPoint Health Services told the Eastern Shore delegation that proposed cuts to behavioral health provider rates and child-welfare funding would harm services, and urged lawmakers to support certified community behavioral health clinics, telehealth access and 988 funding.
KeyPoint Health Services, a behavioral health provider serving Cecil County and other Maryland jurisdictions, urged the Eastern Shore delegation to oppose proposed reductions to provider payments and to support policy changes that expand community behavioral health care.
Russ Weber, a KeyPoint representative, told delegates the organization opposes a proposed 5% cut to child-welfare funding tied to rate reform and a proposed 1% reduction to provider rates. “We just ask that that 1% introduction for the rate stays,” Weber said, asking lawmakers to preserve existing payment levels.
KeyPoint also voiced support for the adoption and expansion of Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) and for telehealth policies that preserve audio-only and audio-visual services for low-income families. Weber cited long emergency-room wait times and said CCBHCs can reduce avoidable hospital visits and expand access in underserved areas.
The presenters highlighted workforce shortages in behavioral health, noting a recent study the group cited that projected roughly 40% of behavioral health workers could leave Maryland within four to six years. KeyPoint asked the delegation to consider workforce supports and funding that would stabilize the provider network.
KeyPoint closed by urging sustained funding for the 988 crisis line and by offering to share its presentation and follow-up materials with legislators.
Ending: The provider said it will share slides and contact information with delegation staff and invited lawmakers to follow up with specific questions about local behavioral health capacity and Medicaid payment arrangements.
