Abstract
In 2005, New Mexico began a comprehensive reform of state-funded mental health care. This paper reports on differences in characteristics, infrastructure, financial status, and services across mental health agencies. We administered a telephone survey to senior leadership to assess agency status prior to and during the first year of reform. Non-profit/public agencies were more likely than others to report reductions or no changes in administrative staff. CMHCs were more likely to report a decline in their financial situation. Findings demonstrated that CMHCs, non-profit/public agencies and rural agencies were more likely to offer critical services to adults with serious mental illness.
References
Beinecke, R. H., Keane, R. J., Symanzick, M., & Casey, D. (1999). The Massachusetts behavioral health program year 5: Transition to a new managed care organization. Administration and Policy in Mental Health, 26(5), 313–327.
Cohen, E., & Bloom, J. R. (2000). Managed care and service capacity development in a public mental health system. Administration and Policy in Mental Health, 28(2), 63–74.
Cutler, D. L., Bevilacqua, J., & McFarland, B. H. (2003). Four decades of community mental health: A symphony in four movements. Community Mental Health Journal, 39(5), 381–398.
Economic Research Service. (2005). Rural-urban commuting area codes. Retrieved November 17, 2007, from http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/RuralUrbanCommutingAreaCodes/.
Felt-Lisk, S., Silberman, P., Hoag, S., & Slifkin, R. (1999). Medicaid managed care in rural areas: A ten-state follow-up study. Health Affairs (Millwood), 18(2), 238–245.
Harrison, J. P., & Sexton, C. (2004). The paradox of the not-for-profit hospital. The Health Care Manager, 23(3), 192–204.
Hauenstein, E. J., Petterson, S., Rovnyak, V., Merwin, E., Heise, B., & Wagner, D. (2007). Rurality and mental health treatment. Administration and Policy in Mental Health, 34(3), 255–267.
Hodgkin, D., Shepard, D., & Beinecke, R. H. (2002). Management of alcohol and other drug abuse treatment by medical plans: Michigan providers’ experience. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 20(1), 79–96.
Interagency Behavioral Health Purchasing Collaborative. (2005). Statewide behavioral health services contract. Santa Fe, NM: State of New Mexico.
Ivey, S. L., Scheffler, R., & Zazzali, J. L. (1998). Supply dynamics of the mental health workforce: Implications for health policy. The Millbank Quarterly, 76(1), 25–58.
Merwin, E., Snyder, A., & Katz, E. (2006). Differential access to quality rural healthcare: Professional and policy challenges. Family & Community Health, 29(3), 186–194.
New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. (2004). Subcommittee on rural issues: Background paper. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Schlesinger, M., & Gray, B. H. (2006). How nonprofits matter in American medicine, and what to do about it. Health Affairs (Millwood), 25(4), W287–W303.
Schlesinger, M., Gray, B., & Bradley, E. (1996). Charity and community: The role of nonprofit ownership in a managed health care system. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 21(4), 697–751.
Semansky, R. M., Altschul, D., Sommerfeld, D., Hough, R., & Willging, C. E. (2009). Capacity for delivering culturally competent mental health services in New Mexico: Results of a statewide agency survey. Administration and Policy in Mental Health, 36(5), 289–307.
The President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. (2003). Achieving the promise: Transforming mental health care in America. Rockville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services.
Vanderboom, C. P., & Madigan, E. A. (2007). Federal definitions of rurality and the impact on nursing research. Research in Nursing and Health, 30(2), 175–184.
Willging, C. E., Waitzkin, H., & Nicdao, E. (2008). Medicaid managed care for mental health services: The survival of safety net institutions in rural settings. Qualitative Health Research, 18(9), 1231–1246.
Willging, C., Waitzkin, H., & Wagner, W. (2005). Medicaid managed care for mental health services in a rural state. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 16(3), 497–514.
Acknowledgments
We thank William Zywiak for his comments on the statistical analysis. This research was supported by a grant (NIMH R01 MH76084) from the National Institute of Mental Health and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded to Dr. Willging; however, the views expressed in this paper are the authors’ alone.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Semansky, R.M., Hodgkin, D. & Willging, C.E. Preparing for a Public Sector Mental Health Reform in New Mexico: The Experience of Agencies Serving Adults with Serious Mental Illness. Community Ment Health J 48, 264–269 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-011-9418-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-011-9418-5