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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: May 17, 2011 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. J - U <br />SUBJECT: OPC Area Program -Partnership Proposed with Piedmont Behavioral Health <br />LME (Medicaid Waiver Expansion) <br />DEPARTMENT: County Manager's Office PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />A. Update Summary <br />B. Frequently Asked Questions <br />C. Public Information Efforts <br />INFORMATION CONTACT <br />Gwen Harvey, Asst Co. Mgr, 245 -2307 <br />Judy Truitt, OPC/LME Director, <br />913-4037 <br />PURPOSE: To authorize the Orange-Person-Chatham (OPC) Local Management Entity (LME) <br />to undertake formal merger negotiations with Piedmont Behavioral Health according to State <br />policies and statutes regarding 1915 (b) (c) Medicaid waiver expansion. <br />BACKGROUND: OPC is the local governmental agency with responsibility for oversight and <br />management of publicly-funded mental health, developmental disability, and substance abuse <br />services in Orange, Person and Chatham counties. OPC provides screening, triage and referral <br />for individuals needing services in the area; recruits and monitors an array of community service <br />providers; and manages the distribution of state monies for services to consumers. OPC is <br />governed by an Area Board comprised of one county commissioner from each of the three <br />counties and the three county commissions appointing remaining board members, which <br />exercises the powers and duties conferred by the North Carolina General Assembly. <br />OPC was approached in February 2010 by Piedmont Behavioral Health (PBH), the LME <br />currently operating under a successful 1915 (b) (c) Medicaid waiver pilot project, about the <br />possibility of forming an alliance. PBH currently serves Cabarrus, Davidson, Rowan, Stanly, <br />and Union counties. The Medicaid waiver is an agreement between the state and the Center <br />for Medicaid Services to be released from certain Medicaid rules. Waivers are used to improve <br />access to and quality of services and manage costs. <br />Preliminary negotiations for an OPC-PBH alliance were authorized, commenced, and paused <br />while sanction for LME waiver expansion gained support in the General Assembly. On March <br />31, 2011 the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) issued its final Request for <br />Applications (RFA) to allow statewide Medicaid waiver expansion under the model created by <br />