Oklahoma lawmakers are advancing a measure that could lead to the consolidation of state health care agencies that have been separated for decades.
The language for House Bill 1572 by Sen. Paul Rosino, R-Oklahoma City, was drafted later than most bills heard this legislative session. It came together after health officials unexpectedly requested statutory changes during a press conference in late March.
Lawmakers said they were caught off guard by the leaders' proposals, but the next day, a bill addressing their concerns received unanimous approval on the Senate floor.
The measure would authorize Keith Reed, the Oklahoma Commissioner of Health, to hold dual-office. Reed would be in charge of overseeing both the State Department of Health and the Department of Mental Health until next March.
Under state law, government officials can't hold more than one office at once, but lawmakers acknowledged it will be difficult to recruit someone to take on the embattled mental health agency, right before the governor's race.
Interim Commissioner Greg Slavonic was appointed to lead the Department of Mental Health in June, but said he will leave as soon as the "gavel drops" in May. The commissioner before him was fired.
The measure would also direct Reed to test the feasibility of combining the two departments. Lawmakers want to determine whether dissolving the mental health agency would save the state money and improve care for Oklahomans.
By then, the state will also have a new legislature, a month into its first session.
Rosino said it will allow for enough time to look at all the "moving parts" of the agencies and how they overlap.
"By doing this feasibility study and really understanding what the shortfalls will be, what the gaps will be, how we are going to affect people," he said. "This should give us, the legislature, a good understanding before we make such a big decision."
Behavioral health providers and their input will be integral to that process, Rosino told other lawmakers.
Some providers have expressed frustration as significant cuts to mental health are felt across the state. The mental health agency, which announced a multi-million dollar budget shortfall last year, has been embroiled in controversy ever since.
What does the Department of Mental Health do?
The department was established by the Mental Health Law of 1953. The law provides that all Oklahomans are entitled to care and treatment for mental health and addiction in accordance with appropriate standards of care.
Since it was founded, the agency has led state efforts in behavioral health, including prevention, treatment and recovery support services. The agency oversaw the state's transition to Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, which provide services for anyone in the state, regardless of ability to pay, and employs thousands of people in administrative service provider roles.
Dissolving the agency would require passing off some of those duties to other state departments or changing parts of the care landscape.
During the March press conference, Oklahoma Health Care Authority Director Clay Bullard floated privatizing the department's remaining facilities as one way to help.
"We continue to see the government is not great at managing facilities and large numbers of staff," Bullard said. "Private companies can do that much better and can deliver services."
Still, other responsibilities will also need to shift. How the state will manage a federal consent decree and provide care for criminal defendants deemed incompetent to stand trial remains unclear. Rosino and other lawmakers seem to hope the feasibility study will provide some answers.
HB 1572 cleared its latest hurdle Wednesday morning, receiving unanimous support from members of the House's Public Health Committee.
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