County to begin charging for crisis mental health services

For some mental health patients in Sutter County, help will not be free for much longer.

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday signed off on charging fees for use of the county's crisis mental health services. Charges will be applied on a patient's second visit; the first visit will remain free.

Sutter County's mental health director, Tom Sherry, pinned much of the need for fees on California's crippling budget deficit, which led to cuts in its payouts to counties and late repayments to local mental health agencies. The county awaits about $4.7 million in reimbursements, he said.

"This was the last area of public health where we were able to provide free services," said Sherry, who will take over the Human Services department at year's end.

The fee schedule takes effect Nov. 30 and will be based on the income-based sliding scale in other California county clinics, starting at $37 a year for the lowest-income patients.

Earlier, cost concerns drove the county to spin off its low-cost medical clinic to a private nonprofit clinic. In July, supervisors cleared a deal for the Peach Tree Clinic of Linda to take control of the Yuba City-based county clinic, despite fierce opposition from farm laborers' advocates who warned Peach Tree would block some patients with proof-of-income requirements for care.

State reimbursements had lagged about $2.8 million behind the clinic's costs in the past three years.

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Howard Yune at 749-4708 or hyune@appealdemocrat.com.