More funds, grants could help find solutions to mental health crisis

Limited discharge options mean many mental health patients in community behavioral health hospitals and the Anoka-Metro Regional Treatment Center have nowhere to go when they no longer require hospitalization, but still need care.

As a result, they stay in those facilities. Which are expensive, said Angela Youngerberg, director of business operations for Blue Earth County.

Over the last two years, the state shifted the full cost of these patient stays onto counties, which means a monthly tab as high as $48,000 per person and a huge strain on county budgets, because the money goes into the state’s General Fund, Youngerberg said. HF737, proposed by Rep. Roz Peterson (R-Lakeville) would capture that money in a separate account and reinvest it in a grant program focused on mental health care, collaborative solutions and innovation. The bill also calls for an initial $10 million appropriation from the state’s General Fund in Fiscal Year 2018 to begin the grant program.

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“We’re not doing enough to address mental health issues,” Peterson said. “We need more collaboration between stakeholders, and maybe some new funds might help jumpstart the process.” The bill came from recommendations made by the Governor’s Task Force on Mental Health, which Peterson served on.

After House Health and Human Services Reform Committee approval, the bill was referred it to the House Health and Human Services Finance Committee. Its companion, SF564, sponsored by Sen. Julie Rosen (R-Vernon Center), awaits action by the Senate Human Services Reform Finance and Policy Committee.

Dr. Paul Goering, vice president at Allina Mental Health and Addiction services and a member of the mental health task force, said the grant program would be a “game changer,” bridging the gaps between providers that serve as barriers to patient care.

While Youngerberg agreed “with the spirit of this bill,” and stressed the need for funding to reform and support the state’s mental health system, paying for the program “solely from county dollars” is unsustainable. She testified on behalf of three statewide-organizations representing counties and county administrators.