In the wake of nearly a decade of sketchy leadership and fiscal mismanagement, the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services recently one-upped itself, suddenly announcing it may seek to privatize four of the state’s behavioral health facilities.
More disconcerting, its request for proposals gave interested suitors all of one month [deadline is Jan. 17] to make a pitch for the state’s business – a preposterous timeline that suggests one thing: Oklahoma government’s Powers-That-Be [read: Gov. Kevin Stitt] already know who they want.
What could possibly go wrong? For patients receiving mental health and substance abuse treatment, regardless of ability to pay? For state workers tasked with providing care, including 24/7 crisis response? For Oklahoma taxpayers, who already are getting less bang for their buck on Stitt’s previous privatization effort: Medicaid managed care [SoonerCare]?
For this week’s Observercast – The Cost Of Everything, The Value Of Nothing – we’re joined by state Rep. Jared Deck, whose House district includes the Griffin Campus, home to the nation’s first community mental health center, to discuss the implications for a state already dealing with poor mental health outcomes and substance abuse problems.
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