Last week the AZ Department of Administration decided to ask the Arizona Office of Administrative Hearings to conduct an official hearing regarding our October 1 contract award for the Regional Behavioral Health Authority in Maricopa County. You may remember that the ADOA issued a stay last month that stopped the transition process. We received a notice from the ADOA yesterday that the hearing is scheduled for the week of August 12.
In the meantime, our procurement and legal team will be preparing for the August Hearing… and our folks on the 2nd floor will be busy working on the integration processes. No matter what happens with the contract, we’re working hard to ensure that we will soon have medical care integrated with behavioral health care for the people in Maricopa County.
I thought integrated behavioral health and other health care were already being provided at four Magellan Provider Network clinics since August 2011 with the Governor’s support?
As you mentioned- there are a few clinically integrated clinics in Maricopa county as a pilot project.
The new proposed contract provides for full administrative management of both behavioral health and primary and acute care of patients living with a serious mental illness. The clinics you’re referring to are providing coordination of care- but the contractor (the RBHA) isn’t in full managerial control of both behavioral health and primary and acute care.