VENTURA COUNTY: Makes Final Request For Mental Health Merger
Ventura County officials this week submitted their final bid to the federal Health Care Financing Administration seeking to restructure the county's Human Services Agency. The Los Angeles Times reports that this is the third time the county has sought federal approval to "merge mental health and social services to create one superagency." The federal government has rejected proposals in the past "primarily because they did not show that a direct line of authority still exists between Ventura County Medical Center and the mental health unit," according to Wayne Moon, HCFA director of Medicare certification. Moon said the county must show "that the hospital is in charge of the services for mental health clients" in order to receive approval. If the county does not receive approval, the Times reports, it could lose $15 million in federal reimbursement funds (Johnson, 12/4).
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