DHS Secretary Advocates For More Mental Health Expenditures

Governor Scott Walker’s proposed budget includes an additional $29 million for mental health; Department of Health Services Secretary Kitty Rhoades assured lawmakers today any money approved would be well spent.

Rhoades says the state needs to change how it delivers mental health services if patients on Medicaid are to improve: “We have been spending in mental health for years, and the outcomes have not improved significantly. Nor have they reached the benchmarks of success for which we are looking”

Counties provide mental health services, but Rhoades says a more regional approach is needed to ensure access and comparable levels of care. Rhoades made this point while appearing before the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

“We recently rolled out the community health programs, the coordinated services, which we will make statewide. This will hopefully, by making it a more coordinated regional effort…We’ll spend less on administration, less on copy machines, more on actually delivering care. “

Rhoades told lawmakers the state should also put more focus on children’s mental health: “If we can help kids who are in crisis and do it right, we can avoid a lot of significant negative outcomes in the future.”

She says therapy at home for children with mental health problems has generally produced better outcomes than outpatient therapy. In the past, at-home treatment was tried only after outpatient therapy failed. In cases where the extra cost for in home therapy is justified, she says the money should be spent.