To:  CMHOC Consumers, Families, Providers, and Stakeholders
From:  Lynne Doyle, Executive Director

By now most of you have heard that the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has notified the Lakeshore Regional Entity (LRE) of their intent to end the contract with them as of September 30, 2019.  MDHHS has stated it will replace the managed care operations with a private organization and remove the current public governance board.  The LRE and its affiliated Community Mental Health organizations and other stakeholders are in opposition of this plan for many reasons.  Michigan’s public mental health system was created to give those individuals with mental illness, intellectual/developmental disabilities and substance use disorders not only the services and supports they need, but a voice in how these services and supports are managed and delivered.  Public governance of our system is important and you should be concerned that this protection is in jeopardy.  Further, there must be adequate financial resources for these Medicaid services.  Almost every region in Michigan is experiencing financial difficulty due to underfunding yet our requests for service continue to grow.  If you would like more information about this and how to help advocate on our behalf, please visit our website at www.miottawa.org/cmh or the Community Mental Health Association of Michigan’s website at www.cmham.org.

Community Mental Health of Ottawa County is committed to our responsibility to provide quality services and supports to our consumers as we work through the challenges mentioned above.  We will do everything in our power to minimize any direct impact to our customers and provider network.  We appreciate your ongoing support.