Anderson County Commissioners stopped short of replacing one of their representatives to the Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center Regional Board, but made it clear that more than $90,000 in county subsidy to the organization may not be allocated after this year. But, one of the county’s representatives on the Health Center Board told commissioners that the SEKMHC can do without the county’s payment due to what she called “life changing money” received in Medicaid funding, that came when the organization became a certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic in 2022. That certification drastically increased its Medicaid funding for services, she said, and enabled the center, which operates mental health programs in all six member counties to expand its services to an $80 million annual budget with some 400 employees. That Medicaid funding increase also provided for the large hikes in executive salaries which has aggravated commissioners. They withheld a 32 thousand dollar payment recently to the SEKMHC. Commission Chair Les McGhee says with costs up, and looking at what the other counties are paying, and the huge salaries, it didn’t set well.
