Montana has increased the contract for a private consulting group that is overseeing the troubled Montana State Hospital and other facilities, the Montana Free Press reported Nov. 29
The amended contract with New York-based Alvarez & Marsal is now worth roughly $7 million, up from the initial agreement of $2.2 million, according to the report. The firm is helping the state's health department to stabilize the Montana State Hospital, a Warm Springs-based psychiatric hospital that lost CMS reimbursements in April after failing to meet Medicare's basic health and safety standards.
The updated contract — which went into effect Oct. 1 — states the consultants will provide direct oversight of a year-long effort to regain CMS reimbursements, according to the report. The consultants will identify roadblocks and create an audit monitoring program to track progress toward recertification.
The contract also states the consultants will help the hospital restructure patient placement, including assessing clinical needs, levels of patient care, and current admission and discharge criteria, according to the report. There is also the possibility of transferring patients to other facilities.
The consulting group will also staff a three-person "Transformation Management Office" to help the health department with facility assessments, hiring, training and overall operations at the Montana Mental Health Nursing Care Center in Lewistown, the Montana Chemical Dependency Center in Butte and the Intensive Behavior Center in Boulder, according to the report.
In a statement emailed to the newspaper, Charlie Brereton, director of the Department of Public Health and Human Services, said the increased costs are justified. "DPHHS is making substantial investments in our state-run health care facilities after years of neglect, as well as working to ensure that our patients are being served in the most clinically appropriate settings," he said. "We look forward to continuing to implement these significant, overdue, resource intensive reforms."
The contract runs through September 2023.