5 Democratic lawmakers on Monday referred to as on state well being division management to make clear the company’s intentions for the struggling Montana State Hospital (MSH) and urged the division to publicly help the hospital regaining accreditation from federal well being authorities.
The state’s solely public psychiatric hospital, which gives short-term and residential remedy for Montanans with severe psychological sicknesses, misplaced its accreditation from the Facilities for Medicare and Medicaid Companies (CMS) in April after investigations by federal officers highlighted vital shortfalls in affected person well being and security protocols that resulted in preventable affected person accidents and deaths.
Within the letter addressed to Division of Public Well being and Human Companies Director Charlie Brereton, legislators cited a July Montana Free Press article during which Brereton and his predecessor, Adam Meier, mentioned they’d not selected the “finest use” of the power or whether or not pursuing re-accreditation made sense.
On Monday, Democratic state Sen. Jessica Wicks and Rep. Sarah Novak of Anaconda, Sens. Mary McNally and Jennifer Gross of Billings, and Rep. Mary Caferro of Helena referred to as the well being division’s noncommittal stance deeply regarding.
“[R]e-accreditation for the State Hospital may go a good distance in the direction of stabilizing MSH’s monetary scenario and safe its long run viability as an vital part of our psychological well being care system,” the letter mentioned. “It’s irresponsible for the State to proceed funding MSH utterly out of the state funds when federal funds could possibly be drawn down for this objective.”
Whereas the hospital’s roughly $49 million annual funds is primarily funded by state taxpayer {dollars}, the power was receiving roughly $7 million a 12 months in remedy reimbursements for its Medicare-eligible sufferers. These funds dried up when federal authorities pulled the hospital’s accreditation, as did any alternative for any further Medicaid reimbursements sooner or later.
The letter’s signatories mentioned funds will not be the one purpose to pursue re-accreditation, an industry-wide designation displaying a hospital is in compliance with federal well being and security requirements. When positioned in “rapid jeopardy” standing, because the Montana State Hospital was earlier this 12 months, federal authorities have discovered {that a} hospital “has positioned the well being and security of recipients in its care in danger for severe harm, severe hurt, severe impairment or dying,” in accordance with the federal government’s operations handbook for services lined by Medicaid or Medicare.
By not in search of re-accreditation, the letter mentioned, the state has not made it clear that it’s dedicated to “correcting the intense wrongs” that induced the hospital to lose its good standing with the federal authorities.
“Montanans should know that sufferers dedicated to the State Hospital are being handled humanely and with a excessive commonplace of care. The workers of MSH deserves to know their office is secure and that they are going to be handled with respect and dignity,” the letter mentioned. “With DPHHS unwilling to decide to re-accrediting MSH, it raises questions as to DPHHS’s dedication to the State Hospital as an entire.”
State well being division spokesperson Jon Ebelt mentioned Monday that the company is reviewing the letter, which it obtained that afternoon, and had no rapid remark.
Beforehand, Brereton and Meier informed MTFP the state would think about the way forward for the hospital with enter from the non-public consulting agency it employed earlier this 12 months to supervise state-run well being services. In a July report card, consultants from Alvarez & Marsal discovered that the state hospital confirmed “vital deficiencies,” the identical because the month prior. The report additionally confirmed that the hospital has spent $17 million greater than its allotted funds for the present fiscal 12 months, largely due to hiring costlier touring workers to cowl current workers vacancies.
Brereton and the consultants from Alvarez & Marsal are scheduled to look at a Friday assembly of the Youngsters, Households, Well being and Human Companies Interim Committee, in accordance with a draft agenda of the assembly posted on the committee’s web site. A last agenda has not but been launched.