St. Mary’s Hospital seeks state funding to cover part of budget deficit and fund new programs

AUGUSTA — St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center is seeking $10 million from the state to close deficits in behavioral health services and roll out new programs.

Hospital officials spoke in support of LD 2105 during a public hearing Wednesday at the Augusta Health and Human Services Commission.

The bill was introduced by Sen. Peggy Rotondo (D-Lewiston).

St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center has experienced severe operating losses over the past several years, with its behavioral health program suffering the greatest financial loss, Chancellor Cindy Seegermiller said at the hearing. The hospital estimates it lost just over $10 million in behavioral health services in 2023.

If the hospital is not granted its one-time funding request, some or many services will likely end, putting the entire behavioral health service in jeopardy, he said. “Our bandwidth is very low and there is a huge demand for it.”

Asked if $10 million would be enough in the face of the budget deficits the hospital has faced each year for the past several years, she said, “We’ve been thinking about how we can continue to operate at this scale. “We have taken a rigorous operational approach.”

If funding is approved, the hospital also plans to use the money to start a new day program that provides behavioral services to adults and youth with mental health and substance use issues, Segermiller said.

St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, pictured from above Sabatus Street in Lewiston in June 2021, is seeking a $10 million cash infusion from the state to fill gaps in behavioral health services. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal File

Sally Cooper, director of behavioral medicine at St. Mary’s University, said in a statement to the committee that more services are needed for patients who fall between outpatient and inpatient services. . The behavioral health emergency department is often over capacity, and the hospital’s adult mental health and adolescent inpatient services and chemical dependency unit are full.

The program would include partial inpatient treatment or intensive outpatient treatment, she wrote. Hospital service areas lack lower-level health care providers who can meet the needs of chronic acute patients.

“In many cases, patients move from the most acute care in the hospital to minimal outpatient care without the opportunity to transition to lower levels of supportive care that are most appropriate in the situation.” she said in written testimony.

She said the hospital’s proposed lack of day program services and similar services is delaying discharges and holding up patients in the hospital’s behavioral health emergency department. “She often has 10 or more patients in the behavioral health emergency department waiting for inpatient treatment,” she said in written testimony.

Seegermiller said he estimates the day program could serve 500 patients a year. We will be able to easily serve the people of Androscoggin, Oxford and Sagadahoc counties.

Health and Human Services Secretary Jeanne Lambrew submitted written testimony in response to the request, but did not speak at the hearing. According to her written testimony, she referred to it as a “special payment,” and as a general policy principle, the department does not support this type of payment to a single facility and does not support similar facilities. It is said that it will not be paid to all.

“As the Department continues to work with stakeholders on broad hospital payment reform, we strongly believe that this proposal is not an appropriate means to address the financial problems of a single hospital,” she wrote. Ta.

She said the payment method the department is using ensures that tax dollars go toward fair and adequate rates for care and costs. Since last July, the department has implemented new methods and fees for reimbursing hospitals for psychiatric and substance use disorder inpatients, and St. Mary’s University is likely to receive higher reimbursement during the next state fiscal year. I hope it can be done.

“Based on the most recent claims data, the department estimates that Saint Mary’s University will receive an additional $7 million in reimbursement in state fiscal year 2024,” she wrote. “Additionally, the Department is moving forward with broader inpatient and outpatient hospitalization rate reforms that will provide additional investment for hospitals in fiscal year 2025.”

Despite recent increases in rates at MaineCare’s behavioral health hospital, it’s not enough to cover St. Mary’s financial losses, Seeger-Myler said.

St. Mary’s Behavioral Emergency Department and its inpatient detox unit receive patients from all over the state, Rotondo said. People in 10 of his 16 counties in Maine are served through behavioral health inpatient units for children and adults.

She said the hospital seeks policy solutions to ensure public safety and identify individuals who are mentally ill to the point of harming others.

That, coupled with continued efforts to address the effects of pandemic isolation, has increased the need for different types of mental health services. Rotondo said existing mental health resources, including services at St. Mary’s Hospital, need to be strengthened.

“St. Mary’s is staffed by dedicated professionals who do a great job,” she said. “Let’s make it a priority to continue funding this facility so it can continue working on the front lines of this crisis.

The need for child and adolescent mental health services has increased since the Oct. 25 mass shooting in Lewiston that killed 18 people at two locations, said St. Mary’s Hospital Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Medical Affairs. said Douglas Smith.

Lewiston Police Lt. Derrick Laurent submitted written testimony in support of the funding, saying officers routinely bring patients to St. Mary’s Behavioral Health Emergency Room for a variety of reasons. Stated.

In recent years, he wrote, even when patients are taken to hospitals, the rooms and waiting rooms are often full. Despite this, hospital staff do not refuse to find a place for someone in need.

According to Rotondo, the hospital first approached Rotondo about the budget deficit before the Oct. 25 shooting.

During the approximately 30-minute public hearing, the committee asked several questions to some of the members who spoke in favor of the bill.

Mr. Seegermiller concluded his testimony by reminding committee members of the importance of funding to ensure the hospital continues to provide that level of service into the future.

“We want to continue our mission for the next 135 years, but we are struggling,” she said. “Therefore, we sincerely hope that you will consider this very important move at a very critical time, when we are at a tipping point, where we are working diligently every day to continue to provide much-needed services.” .”

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