Community mental health services available to more under new law

Mary Lowe, The Daily Telegram
·2 min read
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From left, Cassie Lietaert, human resources manager for Centra Wellness Network; Kathryn Szewczuk, executive director of the Lenawee Community Mental Health Authority; Joseph “Chip” Johnson, executive director of Centra Wellness Network; Gov. Gretchen Whitmer; state Sen. Curt VanderWall; state Rep. Mary Whiteford; Lee Belding, legislative director for Whiteford; and Hannah Tomaszewski, clinician for Catholic Human Services Inc., attend the signing ceremony June 14 at the Capitol in Lansing for a bill that increases access to mental health services.

A new state law will allow many people who do not qualify for Medicaid due to their income to receive care through a county community mental heath center, according to Kathryn Szewczuk, executive director of the Lenawee Community Mental Health Authority.

The plan, which was introduced by state Rep. Mary Whiteford, R-Casco Twp., requires the state health department to update its policies and determine an individual’s ability to pay for community mental health services by following the federal poverty guidelines and utilize the federal sliding fee discount program to make services more affordable for uninsured and underinsured patients.

"The current plan in place is behind. It doesn’t keep up with the federal poverty guidelines, and so this brings the state in line with the federal guidelines and that allows us to follow the sliding fee scale that the feds put together and it allows people who don’t qualify for Medicaid and have an income more affordability to get services if they qualify for community mental health services," Szewczuk, who testified before the House Health Policy Committee about the importance of the bill, said in an interview.

Whiteford said that because the state has not updated the eligibility requirements recently, families that could qualify for the discount program may be missing out on reduced rates for medical services and community mental health sites are losing medical professionals to other states and facilities that qualify for the loan repayment program. Her change to state law will help Michigan compete to attract and retain medical professionals in underserved areas of Michigan, according to a news release from Whiteford's office.

“Community mental health organizations around the state have expressed to me the importance of hiring and retaining mental health professionals,” Whiteford, who chairs the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services, said in the release. “Bureaucratic red tape within our state health department is getting in the way of important programs that help attract health care providers who agree to practice in underserved areas of Michigan. This change to Michigan law will truly help our communities.”

Szewczuk said broadening the scope of who community mental health centers can serve means that they can reach many that may have been placed on a waitlist because they do not qualify for Medicaid.

"The population we serve is a small percent of the population with mental health issues but it’s the population with the highest vulnerability and with the highest need," Szewczuk said. "These are the people who have struggles that have impaired their ability to function and so they need the highest level of treatment."

More than 1,400 community mental health sites will now be able to take advantage of retention and recruitment programs as a result of this policy change.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Community mental health services available to more under new law