The San Miguel Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) heard a presentation from representatives of Tri-County Well being Community and Dr. Sharon Grundy on the Behavioral Well being Options panel in the course of the BOCC assembly on December 5.
One of many panel's most well-known capabilities is working the Behavioral Well being Fund, which was began with a 2018 poll initiative to supply community-based psychological well being and substance abuse providers inside San Miguel County. The fund is designed to assist individuals who stay and/or work in San Miguel County pay for particular person remedy providers.
People can apply for funding of $110 per session for the primary six remedy classes, no matter earnings. Relying on earnings qualifications and after a gathering with the behavioral well being fund navigator, people could also be eligible for six extra classes, that are additionally reimbursed at $110 per session. This financing is legitimate for one calendar yr, until there’s a change in earnings, residence or location. of labor. Suppliers should submit reimbursement requests by way of the Tri-County Well being Community web site. Tri-County Well being Community critiques and approves these requests.
“The fund's priorities embrace school-based psychological well being counselors and applications, psychological well being and substance abuse emergency and disaster response providers, suicide prevention applications, and substance abuse therapy and prevention applications,” Kerry stated. Brock, behavioral well being administrator for Tri-County Well being, in the course of the assembly.
This yr, the fund served 242 purchasers, protecting 1,550 classes for a complete of $169,513, as of December 5, 2024. There are at present 83 authorised suppliers within the system. The fund approves suppliers who want to apply for reimbursement by way of the Behavioral Well being Fund and Youth Fund, designed for youth in search of to entry psychological well being therapy. Funds are processed and despatched to suppliers twice a month.
Most individuals who use this fund have insurance coverage, however the prices of particular person psychological well being providers are sometimes nonetheless too prohibitive.
“A major majority of people that use the behavioral well being fund are insured. I’d say a minimum of 70%,” Brock stated.
Dr. Grundy additionally famous that the insurance coverage business is answerable for reforming psychological well being prices and urged commissioners to handle the prices of those providers, in addition to the reimbursement system, when talking with different politicians and well being leaders. business.
“As politicians, only a reminder: If you happen to're in touch with people who find themselves increased up within the scheme of issues, the psychological well being reform that should occur is within the insurance coverage business,” he stated. “This has to return from individuals who can impression insurance coverage firms, and so forth., and that may be achieved politically. So in case you are speaking to higher-ups, make them perceive that this can be a large burden on folks.”
Commissioner Lance Waring stated he would increase the problem with the state's insurance coverage commissioner.
“I had the pleasure of assembly with the state insurance coverage commissioner a few days in the past in Denver, and that was not a difficulty we addressed,” Waring stated. “Realizing that I'm going to remain in contact, I'm going so as to add that to the listing of reforms.”
The panel has already opened functions for January 2025 so that they have time to overview all of them earlier than the New Yr. Brock estimated that between 40 and 50 folks have already utilized.
Along with the Behavioral Well being Fund, the panel additionally funds psychological well being providers in native colleges, together with the employment of counselors and anti-bullying campaigns, in addition to social media and substance abuse prevention.
“It's just like medical facilities, the place somebody could not are available in for behavioral well being care, but when the behavioral well being care is there and it's already on the door, it's a lot simpler for them to entry it,” Brock stated . .
The panel additionally works on initiatives to fight social isolation. In 2023, Tri-County Well being Community carried out a high quality of life survey that discovered that 40% of respondents in San Miguel County reported feeling remoted from others.
“We don't know precisely why; We don't know what all the particular causes are, however we all know that a good portion of individuals right here really feel very remoted, so funding issues like grief teams or neighborhood conversations, sobriety actions, will assist fight the consequences of social isolation and getting folks within the door and with individuals who perceive,” Brock stated.
Additionally associated to psychological well being, the BOCC reviewed a proposal from Tri-County Well being Community to handle the administration of behavioral well being providers. Tri-County Well being has labored on behavioral well being promotion and suicide prevention since 2015 and has offered administrative assist to the Behavioral Well being Options Advisory Panel. The well being community additionally helped develop the Behavioral Well being Fund.
Working as administrative workers, Tri-County Well being Community critiques and approves behavioral well being funds for San Miguel County residents, along with working with the county to course of funds and invoices, and aiding with system navigation providers for behavioral well being within the county.
The settlement between San Miguel County and Tri-County Well being Community will value about $240,000 a yr, which comes from the county's $zero.75 billion tax devoted to behavioral well being.
The BOCC will situation a movement to authorize an settlement between San Miguel County and Tri-County Well being Community as soon as monetary particulars are finalized, however commissioners have already expressed assist for the plan.
To be taught extra in regards to the Behavioral Well being Fund and to use, go to https://www.sanmiguelbehavioralhealth.org/behavioral-health-fund.