WYOMING — As of Tuesday, July 2, the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) has restructured funding in the state’s mental health services, narrowing who will qualify for state assistance.
In 2021, the Wyoming Legislature passed House Act 56, called Behavioral Health Redesign, which has changed how the State will fund mental health centers. WDH Public Information Officer Kim Deti told Buckrail that the state’s new funding procedure will prioritize those who earn an income lower than 200% of the Federal Poverty Level or those with an acute mental illness, including psychiatric adults, criminal justice involved clients and high needs children and families.
According to Mental Health and Recovery Services of Jackson Hole Executive Director Deidre Ashley, prior to the new law, the state provided block funding to centers and mandated a sliding fee scale for any Wyoming resident seeking mental health services. She explained that only priority populations will continue to receive a sliding scale.
Individual patients will now need to submit an application through Wyoming Medicaid to see if they qualify for state funding and can pay for services on a sliding scale. Wyoming Medicaid is part of the WDH, and the agency will utilize the application process to check patient eligibility and to manage payments to the community mental health centers, according to the WDH. Applicants must be able to verify citizenship, residency and income level.
“One thing people will notice is all residents seeking state-paid behavioral health services must now submit an application through Wyoming Medicaid,” WDH Senior Policy Analyst Franz Fuchs said in the announcement. “While this does not mean you have to be eligible for Medicaid to be helped, this step will check for other potential pay sources beyond state general funds and verify income, citizenship and residency.”
Ashley told Buckrail that she is concerned that this extra step of applying to Wyoming Medicaid could create an additional barrier to those receiving treatment. Additionally, she says that many people in need of mental health services in Teton County do not have residency in Wyoming or U.S. citizenship. Looking ahead, Ashley says that this will be a study year for mental health providers and the state to evaluate funding procedures.
Chris Moll, Director of Community Programs for Teton Youth and Family Services, told Buckrail that the restructuring has prioritized the severely and persistent mentally ill, people coming out of prison, families charged with or at risk of child abuse or kids after they have been discharged from a treatment center.
Molls says that it is too early to know how the restructuring will impact mental health facilities. Teton Youth and Family Services is strategically planning for case loads to increase.
“If the case load is full with people from priority populations, then we won’t have room to accept other referrals,” said Molls.
Mental health organizations in Jackson rely on Town and County subsidies to help provide a continuation of services.
“Nothing is going to change with how we provide our services,” Ashley said. “We will still offer a sliding scale to those ineligible for state funding.”
Mental Health and Recovery Services of Jackson Hole staff members will be available for assistance with the Medicaid application process. On the state level, organizations such as Enroll Wyoming can help people complete the needed application.
For those who will no longer be eligible for state-supported services from the community mental health center network, the WDH says that subsidized insurance might be available to them through the federal marketplace.
Stay tuned for how the state’s behavioral health restructuring will impact local mental health organizations.
