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County hears study showing Medicaid billing could fund jail, behavioral‑health and re‑entry services
Summary
A Via Positiva feasibility study presented to the Santa Fe County commission found the county could become a Medicaid provider for a range of services (detention behavioral health, case management, mobile health) with upfront investments, potentially generating $945,000–$1.35M in net revenue from existing services.
Santa Fe — Commissioners heard a feasibility study April 28 suggesting Santa Fe County could bill Medicaid for services it already delivers, potentially freeing general fund dollars for expanded behavioral‑health and re‑entry services.
Sylvia Bella of Via Positiva and Anne Ryan of the county’s Community Services Department presented the fiscal and operational review. The study found that, with investments in an electronic health record, clinical supervision and compliant billing workflows, the county could enroll as a Medicaid provider and claim reimbursement for behavioral‑health, primary‑care and care‑coordination services already supplied by the jail, Community Services and the mobile integrated health unit.
Bella told the board the study modeled two scenarios. Using existing reimbursable services with targeted infrastructure investment would yield an estimated $945,000 to $1.35 million in net annual revenue. A second scenario that added new services and staff produced estimated net revenue of $730,000 to $1.17 million.
“Assuming those investments are made, Santa Fe County is well‑positioned to become a Medicaid provider,” Bella said. Study authors emphasized the need for a phased approach: an initial FY27 investment of about $400,000 for an electronic medical record, consulting and clinical supervision was cited as a likely first step.
Commissioners pressed on operational details and outcomes they wanted tracked—such as numbers served, revenue generated and claims denial rates—and asked how jail‑based services would interact with the state’s 1115 justice‑involved waiver. County staff said the jail is already a pilot site for expanded Medicaid billing and that the proposal would be brought forward before budget deliberations.
Commissioner Adam Johnson said the idea could free up current county dollars to expand services. The board did not take action but signaled interest in pursuing the phased implementation described in the report.
