CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — When Gov. Joe Manchin vetoed a bill earlier this month that would increase funding for some providers of mental health care, he took pains to point out his alternative proposal, which he believes will better fulfill the bill’s intent.

As lawmakers and health care providers await details of that proposal, an attempt to override Manchin’s veto seems unlikely.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Jeff Kessler, one of the mental health bill’s most ardent supporters, says the purpose of the legislation can be achieved in other ways.

“My goal is not to fight with the governor,” the Marshall County Democrat said. “My goal is to put more money in prevention and early intervention programs to help keep people out of psychiatric hospitals, jails and emergency rooms.”

In his veto message, Manchin pledged to spend $12 million on a broad range of behavioral health services. The bill would have allocated $1.5 million a year for three years to a number of providers who offer community-based services like group homes and day programs.

The bill passed both the Senate and the House of Delegates unanimously. Lawmakers have said that if a veto didn’t include an alternative proposal, an override attempt would be likely. But Manchin’s counterproposal seems to have addressed some of their concerns.

“The state is probably better served by the $12 million the governor has proposed,” Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, D-Logan, said.

House Health and Human Resources Committee Chairman Don Perdue said there’s no momentum for an override attempt, as long as lawmakers believe Manchin is working toward the same goal as they are.

“Everybody is on the same page right now,” the Wayne County Democrat said.

But details of how Manchin will spend that money are still missing. Last week, a newly appointed behavioral health task force produced a report that lists funding priorities. Topping the list are group homes, staff pay, especially at state facilities, and crisis intervention.

Beyond that, lawmakers and behavioral health providers say they have seen no concrete language about what budget items the money will be used for.

“It’s a waiting game right now,” said John Russell, executive director of the West Virginia Behavioral Healthcare Providers Association.

In the absence of specifics, Perdue said lawmakers may insert language reflecting the task force’s recommendations.

“The Legislature sent a very, very clear message,” he said. “We want to see these needs met and we want to see the funding delivered.”

The bill was prompted in part by ongoing problems of overcrowding at the state’s two psychiatric hospitals in Huntington and Weston. Providers of community-based services say their funding has not significantly increased in years, leaving them unable to provide the care needed to keep people out of acute care hospitals.

 

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