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Ottawa County orders staff to study converting CMH to authority after hearing $5.5M shortfall
Summary
After a public presentation on Medicaid funding risks and a likely $5.5 million FY25 shortfall, the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners voted to direct the county administrator to develop a strategy and timeline to evaluate converting the county's Community Mental Health department to a single-county authority, while promising public hearings.
The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners on Nov. 21 directed county staff to develop a timeline and recommended strategy to assess whether the county should convert its Community Mental Health (CMH) department into a single-county authority, after legal counsel and CMH leadership warned the county faces significant fiscal risk under current Medicaid managed-care arrangements.
The board's action followed a presentation by corporate counsel Doug Van Essen and CMH CEO Dr. Brashears, who said the county is likely looking at a roughly $5.5 million deficit for fiscal year 2025 and that converting to an authority is a statutory option many Michigan counties have used to limit exposure of the county general fund. "Right now, it looks like we have a $5,500,000 deficit," counsel said during the presentation.
Why it matters: County leaders said the managed-care financing model pays a fixed amount per enrollee but leaves counties responsible for meeting the entitlement of services; under that model unanticipated high-cost cases and changes to benefit rules can produce large deficits. Van Essen and Dr. Brashears said an…
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