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Durham commissioners press Alliance Health for data as Medicaid changes could shift costs
Summary
During an Aug. 4 work session, Alliance Health briefed Durham County commissioners on FY25-26 budget implications and behavioral health programs; commissioners asked for lists of schools with licensed clinicians, a fiscal forecast for fund exhaustion, and data on Recovery Response Center referrals amid possible Medicaid cuts.
Alliance Health officials briefed the Durham County Board of County Commissioners on Aug. 4 about the health provider’s FY25-26 administration and program plans and how federal-level changes to Medicaid could affect local funding needs.
Kelly Goodfellow, Executive Vice President at Alliance Health, said the organization’s ability to use other funds was tied to additional members being covered by Medicaid expansion. She warned that changes to Medicaid enrollment or coverage would likely increase the number of uninsured members and shift costs back to county and state resources.
Rob Robinson, Alliance Health CEO, described program expansions and crisis services, including the Peer Run Respite Program, and said neighboring jurisdictions had expressed interest in Durham’s models. Robinson explained the Peer Run Respite Program as a home‑like setting offering 24‑hour access to peer support specialists and other less‑restrictive behavioral health options.
Sean Schreiber, Chief Operating Officer, told commissioners the Durham School‑Based Team (SBT) was in planning and not yet operational; he said staff could provide a list of schools with licensed clinicians, the number of school‑based children funded by Alliance Health, and a list of PreK schools involved. Schreiber also clarified that SOAR workers were located at the Durham Crisis Response Center and embedded in multiple outside communities.
The Board asked staff to provide: data on school‑based children funded by Alliance Health; a fiscal forecast showing how many future fiscal years current funds would last; a list of PreK schools participating with Alliance; data on the number of individuals being sent to the Recovery Response Center amid a decline in law‑enforcement drop‑offs; and for Behavioral Crisis Line information to be integrated into public communications in light of possible SNAP and Medicaid cuts.
Alliance Health noted a quarterly dashboard tracks the Recovery Response Center, Mobile Crisis Unit, and Behavioral Health Walk‑in data; commissioners requested the underlying datasets and trend analyses to inform county planning.
