Citing skyrocketing demand for mental health care and reimbursement rates that don't match the cost of care, St. Mary's Regional Medical Center in Lewiston is seeking $10 million in emergency state funding.
St. Mary's chief medical officer, Doug Smith, told state lawmakers last week that the health system serves patients across central Maine.
"Our behavioral emergency department is often well over capacity," he said. "Our inpatient adult, adolescent and chemical dependency units are often full, with many people waiting to be admitted."
St. Mary's officials say without the funding, the health system would likely have to curtail current services and abandon plans to provide a day program.
But Maine's Department of Health and Human Services says it's not appropriate for the state to provide one-time funding to a single facility. And it estimated that St Mary's would receive an additional $7 million this year from new reimbursement rates and methodology.
