Using rare vote, Democratic leaders block LePages $3M plan for Riverview
Source: Bangor Daily News
AUGUSTA, Maine — Construction of a crucial forensic psychiatric unit in Augusta was dealt a blow by Democratic legislative leaders who, using an oft-overlooked oversight power, voted against Gov. Paul LePage’s administration’s plan on Wednesday.
LePage and the Department of Health and Human Services have been trying for months to start work on the building, which would house forensic patients — who are mostly people referred to the custody of Riverview Psychiatric Center by the courts — who don’t need acute care.
DHHS tried to move the project through the Legislature last year, but the bill was defeated amid concerns for advocates for the mentally ill and lawmakers who said the project was not fully vetted. That led the LePage administration to identify alternative, internal funding — outside of legislative oversight — and move forward with the project.
The proposed 21-bed, high-security forensic facility is crucial to the state’s efforts for Riverview to be recertified by the federal Centers for Medicaid Services and preserve $20 million in annual federal funding. The facility was decertified in 2013.
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Read more: http://bangordailynews.com/2016/11/30/politics/using-rare-vote-democratic-leaders-block-lepages-3m-plan-for-riverview/
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