County must pay inmate’s $75k mental health bill
NORWICH - Chenango County administrators are taking measures they hope will lessen the financial onus of referring inmates at the county jail to state-approved psychiatric centers for mental treatment.
Action comes at the heels of a single-month $75,360 invoice received by the county for mental health services of one inmate back in April. Under state corrections law 508, which allows pre-sentenced inmates to be admitted to psychiatric centers for mental health treatment, the county’s responsible for paying that bill in full.
The problem, county officials argue, is that local taxpayers are on the hook for 100 percent of the bill; yet the burden to pay such expenses in full hasn’t always been the case. Two years ago, state law changed from a 50-50 split of costs for mental treatment for inmates, where the county paid half the cost to psychiatric clinics and New York State picked up the other half.
The change has prompted the county’s Health and Human Services Committee to draft a resolution calling on the state to revert to its former agreement and once again foot 50 percent of the cost of treatment for inmates admitted into psychiatric treatment centers.
“Just like many times, we’ve gone from being responsible to pay 50 percent to paying 100 percent,” said Health and Human Services Committee member Wayne Outwater, who moved to draft a resolution opposing the change during the committee’s July meeting. “It’s not fair that it’s 100 percent for the county. It’s a burden for the county.”
The resolution will likely go before the Chenango County Board of Supervisors next week.
According to Mental Hygiene Services Director Ruth Roberts, the county may see some financial relief with the recent hire of a social worker and a nurse practitioner who can prescribe medications for inmates at the correctional facility. This may ultimately lower the number of individuals sent from the jail to outpatient clinics for psychiatric services, she said.
“Certainly somebody who needs to be transferred, who needs that level of care, we want to make sure that’s available and accessible,” said Roberts. “But if we can manage individuals who have psychiatric conditions or mental health issues, we want to manage them in our local county jail and not have them transferred.”
To put the county’s $75,000 invoice into perspective, Roberts said the county paid $237,000 to outpatient psychiatric clinics in 2019 (a cost that would have been more than a half-million dollars had the state not taken up 50 percent of the cost). Expenses were much the same in 2018.
County Attorney Allen Gordon argues a $75,000 bill for one month for one individual seems “ridiculous.” And while some counties have refrained from paying similar charges, citing technicalities in 508 law to withhold funds from New York State, he said the county shouldn’t follow suit.
“My experience is that when you do that with the State of New York, you often end up paying the price,” he added.
Action comes at the heels of a single-month $75,360 invoice received by the county for mental health services of one inmate back in April. Under state corrections law 508, which allows pre-sentenced inmates to be admitted to psychiatric centers for mental health treatment, the county’s responsible for paying that bill in full.
The problem, county officials argue, is that local taxpayers are on the hook for 100 percent of the bill; yet the burden to pay such expenses in full hasn’t always been the case. Two years ago, state law changed from a 50-50 split of costs for mental treatment for inmates, where the county paid half the cost to psychiatric clinics and New York State picked up the other half.
The change has prompted the county’s Health and Human Services Committee to draft a resolution calling on the state to revert to its former agreement and once again foot 50 percent of the cost of treatment for inmates admitted into psychiatric treatment centers.
“Just like many times, we’ve gone from being responsible to pay 50 percent to paying 100 percent,” said Health and Human Services Committee member Wayne Outwater, who moved to draft a resolution opposing the change during the committee’s July meeting. “It’s not fair that it’s 100 percent for the county. It’s a burden for the county.”
The resolution will likely go before the Chenango County Board of Supervisors next week.
According to Mental Hygiene Services Director Ruth Roberts, the county may see some financial relief with the recent hire of a social worker and a nurse practitioner who can prescribe medications for inmates at the correctional facility. This may ultimately lower the number of individuals sent from the jail to outpatient clinics for psychiatric services, she said.
“Certainly somebody who needs to be transferred, who needs that level of care, we want to make sure that’s available and accessible,” said Roberts. “But if we can manage individuals who have psychiatric conditions or mental health issues, we want to manage them in our local county jail and not have them transferred.”
To put the county’s $75,000 invoice into perspective, Roberts said the county paid $237,000 to outpatient psychiatric clinics in 2019 (a cost that would have been more than a half-million dollars had the state not taken up 50 percent of the cost). Expenses were much the same in 2018.
County Attorney Allen Gordon argues a $75,000 bill for one month for one individual seems “ridiculous.” And while some counties have refrained from paying similar charges, citing technicalities in 508 law to withhold funds from New York State, he said the county shouldn’t follow suit.
“My experience is that when you do that with the State of New York, you often end up paying the price,” he added.
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