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DBH says $25 million FY26 pressure slowed payments; purchase‑order process credited for delays
Summary
At a Feb. 4 Committee on Health oversight hearing, DBH Director Dr. Barbara Basron told councilmembers that a projected $25 million FY26 budget pressure driven by community support and recovery support services forced prioritization decisions that delayed local payments; DBH plans a new grants management system to speed reimbursements.
Chair Christina Henderson pressed Department of Behavioral Health officials about outstanding payments to community providers dating to FY22 and FY23. DBH Chief Operating Officer Michael Neff said local human‑care agreements require purchase orders (POs) before payment and that several providers lacked POs, which prevented payment even when weekly claims had been processed. "A purchase order does mean payment," Neff said, describing the pathway from claims to PATH invoices.
Director Dr. Barbara J. Basron told the committee the department prioritized local funds to cover urgent services after a spending trend in community support services created a projected FY26 shortfall of $25,000,000. "We were planning on figuring out how to cover a deficit because of needing to provide the same local funds to cover Medicaid match," Neff said. Basron apologized to providers affected by delayed local payments and said DBH is expediting payment now that POs are being generated.
DBH described two parallel fixes: (1) tighter prioritization and issuance of POs for local contracts, and (2) replacing legacy grants workflows by adopting DC Health’s Salesforce‑based grants management system, which DBH expects to migrate in April–May and have staff trained by July. Basron said the system will help track grants and reduce administrative back‑and‑forth that has delayed execution of grant agreements. "We have begun the process of setting up the project and funding it…we will migrate the data, which should happen end of April and May," Basron said.
Councilmembers asked for clearer timelines and status reports for providers awaiting payment. The department agreed to provide follow‑up information on outstanding POs, payment timelines, and which providers remain unpaid.
