Florida’s seven Managing Entities, which oversee Florida’s behavioral health care safety net system, today urged lawmakers to restore the $60 million proposed budget reduction to behavioral health care services.
“We’ve seen skyrocketing cases of mental health issues and substance use disorders over the past year, and now more than ever we need to fully fund behavioral health care services so Floridians can lead healthier lives,” said Natalie Kelly, CEO of the Florida Association of Managing Entities. “Florida’s seven Managing Entities oversee behavioral health care services provided to Florida’s uninsured population, and we must ensure we have adequate funding to continue to provide high quality care to this vulnerable population.”
The Managing Entities advocate for funding of “systems” care coordination, which helps individuals with the most complex behavioral health care needs. The ME Care Coordination program, an innovative program that has a less than 5% readmission rate of clients who utilize crisis or emergency room services, guides those who need multiple services from different providers across systems, such as law enforcement agencies, courts, child welfare, insurance/Medicaid, housing, school districts, etc. This represents an enormous cost savings to the state and reduces the risk of adverse outcomes, such as incarceration, emergency room visits and more. An average emergency room stay is more than $6,600.
Florida’s seven Managing Entities oversee a network of approximately 300 health care provider organizations delivering behavioral health services, including mental health and substance use disorder treatment, to more than 320,000 uninsured Floridians. Providers meet patients’ diverse needs with “wraparound services” that address mental health and substance use issues and assist with housing, transportation, and employment.
About the Florida Association of Managing Entities
The Florida Association of Managing Entities (FAME) is the statewide organization representing Florida’s seven Managing Entities. FAME’s mission is to advance the behavioral health recovery of individuals and their families in the state of Florida. More information about FAME is available at flmanagingentities.com.
