The core element of the Affordable Care Act is community healthcare. The only community element for mental health and substance abuse treatment is community residential mental health and substance abuse treatment facilities. These facilities represent the best case avenue for mental health and substance abuse comprehensive treatment for adults and youth in North Carolina. The 27 g treatment facilities is a godsend when it comes to comprehensive MH/SA treatment by the DHHS. The policy and procedures guiding these facilities is resolute in its approach to providing forward thinking, progressive, innovative and all encompassing mental health and substance abuse treatment for adults and children in the state of North Carolina. It is however devastatingly sad that the hierarchy of the DHHS does not even know what a 27 g treatment facility actually is. In fact, we have internal documents that state Jay Ludlam, the head of Medicaid expansion in North Carolina and his team actually believe a 27 g treatment facility is a .5600 group home and does not have the authorization to treat and bill for mental health and substance abuse treatment. I would ask Mr. Ludlam to refer to the DHHS policy and procedures for 27 g treatment facilities, where he would discover that the entire premise for the creation of the 27 g treatment facilities was for the comprehensive treatment of mental health and substance abuse exclusively. A simple and free google search would satisfy anyone’s knowledge of this matter and avert there lack of not knowing. This ignorance is highly troubling when we are questioning the ignorant or intentional overlooking of administration of the much needed community residential treatment facilities as created by the DHHS to address the mental health and substance abuse crisis we have been experiencing in North Carolina for years now.To make matters worst is the fact that Sandhills does not even possess a method to process a UB04 claim form, which is the only acceptable claim form permitted by Medicaid and Medicare for residential treatment facilities. Even more troubling is the fact that with the flood of funding being sent to North Carolina from the federal government for mental health and substance abuse treatment , this funding is not reaching the one program designed and created by DHHS specifically for community health services. The 27 g treatment program on its sheer ability to address specifically the scourge of mental illness and the flood of fentanyl now being spread across our state remains the premier treatment service offered by the DHHS for the communities of North Carolina. It is extremely sad that thru inept, ignorant and dysfunctional administration this exceptional program is failing miserably to assist the most needy of our community. The still sick and suffering desperately need a functional residential treatment program that operates one person,one bed, one day at a time to treat the illness they suffer from. All attempts to put this issue in the spotlight has failed, including correspondence with the head of the DHHS and the Governor. It remains our forever prayer that this issue has a resolution.
