New Mexico reached a $10 million settlement with five behavioral health care providers that had been accused of fraud during Gov. Susana Martinez's tenure.
The five organizations involved are Santa Maria El Mirador, formerly Easter Seals El Mirador, Border Area Mental Health Services, Southwest Counseling Center, Southern New Mexico Human Development, and Families and Youth. Martinez's administration froze payments to these and 10 other behavioral health care organizations after being accused of overcharging Medicaid.
The New Mexico Attorney General cleared the providers of wrongdoing, but the Human Services Department continued to press the allegations. Many providers had to close their facilities, lay off staff and stop providing mental health services to New Mexico residents.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham
"The prior administration shut down some of the providers without cause, without due process," said Patsy Romero, chief executive officer of Santa Maria El Mirador. "So lives were lost, adults who were not served ended up in the criminal justice system and children lost out. When you completely destroy something like this, it takes a long time to rebuild."
After investigation, none of the providers were found to have committed fraud.
Santa Maria El Mirador received the largest portion of the settlement, followed by Border Area Mental Health Services and Southwest Counseling Center. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Human Services Department Secretary David R. Scrase are credited with pushing the settlement through.
“The governor tasked me with fixing behavioral health in New Mexico,” Scrase said in a statement. “With all of the lawsuits behind us, we will work together with these providers and others to focus on building a new behavioral health care system in our state, provide new and expanded services and ensure that what happened in 2013 never happens again.”
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