I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
The state wants the public to weigh in to help shape the next behavioral health contract before seeking proposals in June from firms interested in bidding for the contract. A series of sessions around the state to take public comments have been scheduled, with the first coming Tuesday and the last taking place early next month.
As The Independent reported earlier this year, the state has decided to put out to bid the state’s $1 billion contract managing how care for mental illness and substance abuse is delivered in New Mexico only months after a new firm had taken over.
“We’re looking to see what people like, what they don’t like,” collaborative spokeswoman Betina Gonzales McCracken said Friday.
Here’s a list of those meetings, according to the New Mexico Behavioral Health Collaborative, which will hire the new contractor:
April 13, 2010, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in Farmington at a Presbyterian Medical Services center at 608 Reilly Avenue.
April 14, 2010, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in Roswell at the Counseling Associates Inc., located at 110 E. Mescalero Rd.
April 15, 2010, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in Las Cruces at the Southwest Counseling Center Inc. located at 100 W. Griggs Ave.
April 19, 2010, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in Santa Fe at the Human Services Department office located at 37 Plaza la Prensa.
April 26, 2010, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in Albuquerque at the Human Services Department Income Support Division located at 1711 Randolph Road S.E.
April 28, 2010, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Native American specific meeting for Region 6 in Albuquerque at the Human Services Department Income Support Division located at 1711 Randolph Road S.E.
Native American Tribal Consultation:
May 7, 2010, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in Albuquerque at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center located at 2401 St. NW.
The collaborative tried to boil down what they were looking for on a flyer meant to raise awareness about the public meetings.
What are priority services if we can’t fund everything we want in our system?
What are ways we can further streamline the system?
What are the priority performance measures/points of accountability?
Prioritizing focus of the Statewide Entity
Are there any technical changes we should consider? For example; include readiness activities as a part of the
evaluation
Meanwhile, the collaborative released a concept paper this week explaining the reasons for the decision to rebid the contract.
“This action came as a result of NM’s struggling economy and proposed
changes to the state’s Medicaid program. Along with federal passage of healthcare reform, these factors are shifting the way the State needs to provide behavioral health services,” the paper said.
Not addressed in the concept paper is the troubled tenure of Optum Health Care, which took over the state’s four-year, behavioral health contract in July 2009. Optum’s performance has not lived up to state officials’ expectations, especially after it was discovered that hundreds of providers statewide had to wait up to several months to get paid for services already rendered.
Problems with Optum’s transition contributed to the state’s decision to seek proposals, state officials have acknowledged. But they have insisted since the announcement to rebid that the coming changes at the federal level due to the new health care reform law and the state’s financial troubles play a bigger role.
The state, which has cut services and raised taxes to make up for revenue that can’t keep up with expenses, is trying to save money in the Medicaid program, the government’s low-income health insurance program. Behavioral health services are funded through Medicaid, which is jointly paid for by the federal and state governments.
The state hopes to have a new firm managing the state’s behavioral health system in place by July of next year.
Here’s a schedule of how the process of selecting that firm, whoever it is, likely will progress:
June 2010– Issue RFP
July 2010 – Proposals Due
August 2010 – Review and Evaluation of Proposals
September – November 2010 – Contract Negotiations
December 2010 – Contract Decision
July 2011 – Contract Effective Date
