Riverton mental health services provider to received budget boost

June 28--COLUMBUS, Kan. -- The Riverton nonprofit that provides mental health services to Cherokee County residents is expected to receive $10,000 more next year from a 9 percent increase in the amount of money it receives from the county government.

Commissioners unanimously voted Monday to allocate $121,457 in county funds to Spring River Mental Health & Wellness.

"They have so many programs we're proud of for Cherokee County," Commissioner Charles Napier said.

Spring River Mental Health & Wellness received $111,457 from the county levy in 2014 and another $10,970 from the county alcohol tax, about 3.2 percent of the nonprofit's total $3.7 million in revenue, according to its most recent audit available. Most of the nonprofit's income -- more than $3 million -- was from patient fees and insurance. The last funding increase that Spring River received from the county was in 2011.

The nonprofit provides mental health counseling and drug and alcohol treatment. The center served more than 1,900 people in 2014, according to its latest available tax return.

Scott Jackson, executive director, previously told commissioners that Gov. Sam Brownback's 4 percent cut to Medicaid payments is expected to reduce revenue for Spring River by about $86,000 in 2017. The nonprofit also lost an additional $22,000 in payments it had received for screening residents to see if they needed psychiatric care and providing outpatient services.

Angela de Rocha, the spokeswoman for the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability, said that under certain conditions, the federal agency that oversees Medicaid no longer allows Medicaid to pay for mental health screens under the federal Mental Health Parity Act.

"We realize and regret this presents a financial challenge for centers such as Spring River, but the state cannot violate the mental health parity rule by reinstating the previous screening procedure and billing practices," de Rocha wrote in an email to The Joplin Globe.

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Kansas also has not expanded Medicaid to cover more low-income residents.

"We continue to see more county residents without the ability to pay for their services," Jackson wrote commissioners. "We have a large number of persons unable to pay for their needed care."

Spring River also operates a primary care clinic, administers the parenting in divorce program for the 11th Judicial District and coordinated care for Medicaid recipients who have a severe and persistent mental illness or a serious emotional disturbance, according to the budget materials.

Commissioners try to adopt the annual budget, which totals more than $14 million, by Aug. 31 each year.

In other business, commissioners unanimously approved a two-year contract with Barbara Wright, the attorney for the commission. She will be paid $28,000 a year for the part-time position.

Mental health

In 2015, 1,677 Cherokee County residents received traditional mental health or substance abuse services from Spring River Mental Health & Wellness, according to the proposed budget for the center.

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