At a time when a third of the state’s population relies on government-funded health care, most California counties are failing to apply for millions of dollars that could be used to broaden access to mental health care, an analysis by the California Health Report has found. Data from California’s Department of Health Care Services shows that only a handful of counties apply for Mental Health Medi-Cal Administrative Activities reimbursement, and those that do often obtain a low amount compared to their population.
Collectively, California counties are walking away from more than $100 million a year in this federal funding for their mental health programs, Briscoe estimates.
The discrepancy raises questions about the effectiveness and equity of the state’s administrative claiming process for county mental health plans at a time when California is struggling to meet people’s mental health needs. The funding gap also suggests that counties are missing out on funding for what Californians said in a recent poll was their number one health care priority: ensuring that people with mental health problems have access to treatment.
Out of 58 counties in California, only 12 applied for the reimbursement last fiscal year.
In a statement, the state Department of Health Care Services agreed that many counties may not have the resources to pursue the reimbursement.
Many counties “likely determined that the reimbursements are not worth the effort,” wrote spokesperson Katharine Weir-Ebster in an email. “This is mostly true of small counties with limited resources.”
The state offers two fiscal trainings each year in which it explains the reimbursement system to counties, participates in monthly conference calls about the program, and provides ongoing technical assistance to counties, she said.
For Briscoe, who is now campaigning for an overhaul of California’s mental health funding system, the problem is bigger than counties not adequately applying for the funds. He thinks lack of participation in the program is emblematic of an archaic mental health system in California that makes it absurdly difficult for county mental health plans to function.
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