Will Cape Cod Privatize Its Emergency Mental Healthcare System?

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker says his administration’s plan to privatize the implementation of emergency mental health services in the southeastern* portion of the state will save $4.7 million. “We believe this will have no impact on client services,” an administrative official told members of a legislative panel yesterday. “The staff who have worked in those emergency service programs are dedicated professionals.”

Administrative officials can make that claim because this portion of Massachusetts—which includes Cape Cod, Fall River, and Brockton—is the last region in the state to have its emergency health services operated by the state's Department of Public Health. For most of Massachusetts’ Medicaid recipients, mental healthcare is managed by a private network of providers.