Community and Family Resources, an addiction center, and CommUnity Crisis Services, a nonprofit that offers mental health resources, indicated there was a lag between when services were being provided and reimbursed. The organizations presented Wednesday at a Johnson County Board of Supervisors meeting, prompting the board to look into expanding the period of county reimbursement from 90 to 120 days as a solution.
This issue came during another work session on July 9, when the board decided to look into a 120 day stop-gap funding, or temporary funding, for various expenses incurred at the GuideLink Access Center that have not been reimbursed by the state. The stop-gap funding would ensure that the programs could continue without a plan on where future funding will come from.
Between July’s meeting and Wednesday’s meeting, the Johnson County Attorney’s Office wrote up a proof of payment certification form, where they proposed to do four 30-day increments to solve the lagging issue. The attorney’s office also added a “not to exceed amount” for legal protection under the board’s direction.
The forms and certification of accurate numbers from providers were presented to the board Wednesday by David Van Compernolle, a Johnson County attorney. Van Compernolle said while the forms were not ideal due to changes in contracts, the certificates were the best guiding documents for setting a permanent plan in place.
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“In an ideal situation, you want to put things out to bid, to enter into an actual contract for a term. We’re kind of in a different place right now,” Van Compernolle said, “So it took a little bit of time to kind of craft a possible solution.”
Van Compernolle also highlighted the fact these forms are temporary, adding he would not feel comfortable using them long term if the board did not have a plan for payment in place.
“The state has thrown more money at GuideLink than the county has, and so an argument can be made. The county does not need to throw any more money at it at all,” he said.
Michelle De La Riva, who spoke on behalf of Community and Family Resources, which has done work for GuideLink in the past, asked the supervisors to consider recently increased sliding free scale rates to match Medicaid, as a reason to increase the number of days for the stop-gap funding.
De La Riva brought up the fact CFR that their 3.7 program, which is their medically monitored intensive residential program or detox, needs continued funding to be able to run.
“Having no funding has impacted us because we don’t just run that residential program here in Iowa City — we also operate in Fort Dodge,” she said.
The board decided to formally consider the certifications next Thursday during their formal sessions.