Nevada lawmaker’s mental health bill hits a snag

Tuesday, March 1, 2005 | 12:12 p.m.

CARSON CITY, Nev. - A plan to provide $500,000 this fiscal year to a mental health triage center in Las Vegas hit a snag Monday when the chairman of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee complained the proposal "steered money" to the company running the center.

"We don't want to make anyone feel that the door's already been closed (to other bidders)," said Assemblyman Morse Arberry, D-Las Vegas.

The bill, which had seen little opposition until now, also would allocate $100,000 for a new center in Reno. The centers divert the mentally ill and substance abusers from overcrowded emergency rooms. The Las Vegas center, which has served 15,000 people since it opened in January 2003, has a yearly operating budget of about $2.7 million.

During a Ways and Means hearing, Arberry said he was concerned that the AB40 was a boon for WestCare, the health care provider that runs the Las Vegas center.

Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, who has championed the bill, countered that it sends a quick infusion of cash to the center so it can keep its doors open through the spring. She said other health care providers could bid for future services after the WestCare contract expires.

The center was established to deal with a mental health care crisis in Las Vegas. Under the original agreement, it was to be funded jointly by hospitals, local government and the state. A request to put up the state's portion was put off by the Legislature's Interim Finance Committee so that it could get an airing before the full Legislature.

Arberry said he wants to change the language of the bill to allow for "compatibility with the competitive bid process." He also said he doesn't expect any appropriations bills to make it through his committee quickly.

"Everybody says there's going be this $300 million surplus, but we don't really know that yet," he said. "It's going to be slow trickle for any money bills going between each house."

Lawmakers on the committee also received several letters from substance abuse groups in Las Vegas concerned that the triage center may be diverting much-needed funding from drug treatment programs.

"The fact is those programs are underfunded," said Leslie. "But that's a separate issue."