For answers, you can read the top report at this link, or you can read the comments below from John Turcotte, director of the General Assembly’s Program Evaluation Division:
Never underestimate the dynamic of entrepreneurs. When you turn loose what had formerly been a government-run, institutionally based program and you tell the world, ‘Please come forward with services, and here’s some money for that,’ that demand will be met. And there will be no delay in meeting that demand.
I’m not trying to be hypercritical of the department here, but that should have been anticipated. If you’re going to have a government-operated program where you involve the private sector, you’ve got to take extraordinary measures on the front end to keep things from getting out of hand.
In this case, I don’t think the department was keen enough on
estimating what would happen.When you turn off front-end controls, word
gets out. And in this case, it behaved pretty much how it should have
been anticipated.One of the fundamental things you need to know about economics is that if there’s money to be made, people are going to find ways to make that money,” he said. “I don’t want to use the words ‘game the system’ because the system exactly allowed this. The rates were not set precisely enough, and the controls on authorization of service ? were turned off. So this surge occurred, and ? trying to be polite ? the department should have anticipated this.
For more on worthwhile mental health reform proposals, see Joe Coletti’s work.
