Federal Funds At Risk For Minnesota’s Second-Largest State-Run Psychiatric Hospital
Meanwhile, in Kansas, mental health advocates see an opportunity to redesign the system after a state hospital loses its Medicare payments.
Minnesota Public Radio:
Large State-Run Psychiatric Hospital Risks Losing Federal Funds
Minnesota's second-largest state-run psychiatric hospital is at risk of losing federal funding over patient care and staff safety. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Anoka-Metro Regional Treatment Center could lose $3.5 million annually from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which gave the state a March deadline to come up with solutions. (Feshir and Crann, 1/6)
Kansas Health Institute News Service:
Mental Health Advocates Say Osawatomie Troubles May Provide Chance To Revamp System
Some mental health advocates in Kansas see a silver lining to Osawatomie State Hospital losing its Medicare payments: a chance to redesign a system they say was already strained and underfunded. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced in December it would decertify Osawatomie, meaning the hospital no longer would receive about $1 million in monthly payments from Medicare to care for patients with severe mental illnesses. Federal surveyors pointed to what they called widespread security problems. (Hart, 1/5)