Montana Insurance

HELENA - for a man who has overseen one of bold experiments - and the biggest meltdowns - Dan Anderson has remarkably few enemies.

Even those who have policies or wars with emotional Anderson Montana’s turbulent on the mental health system, rather than say something nice about it.

“I think it is very, very good person,” said Jani McCall, a spokesman for mental health and lobbyists Billings. “I think it was the best he could under very difficult conditions and has really paid its contributions to the state.”

Now, Anderson is the payment of such fees. After 13 years as a top state mental health administrator, he finished the retirement of the State government in the last month.

“I was not sure if I’m still enough ideas on how we could change things (in mental health),” said Anderson. “I was at the point where I thought, ‘You know, I really did not do so, not more.” If you start this way. … ”

While the mandate Anderson, publicly funded mental health services in Montana, a stony path, including one unfortunate, $ 150 million more experience with Managed Care, in the late 1990. The Managed Care contract was discontinued after two years, amid clamor of patients and providers, it is a total failure.

But all the modest Anderson with his reputation intact, because many consumers, colleagues and mental health specialists say, he always tried, the system work for people with mental illnesses.

“I think he was a master of the house of a dysfunctional system, is trying to do its best,” said Gary Mihelish, Helena dentist and mental health activist. “He has a heart, it s ‘occupies man. ”

Anderson, say friends, have a characteristic type of humour in the darkest days of Managed Care and budget cuts, said its mission was the best system for money available.

“As far as we all had kicked some could give, I am very proud that we tried to work better,” he said. “I do not think we felt a desperate (for the Managed Care).

Anderson said that he had inherited the system in 1990: more than 600 adults in institutions, the options developed for the State and hospital treatment was that without licence and without a federal Medicaid or Medicare for many programs.

If you were hospitalized, your insurance does not pay, “he said.

The move was already underway to move mentally ill patients in institutions such as Warm Springs “community-based” treatment, they could lot of time at home and not in a hospital. The idea was not only help patients, but also save money.

Überwältigende costs

But before a better network of treatment could be developed, increasing costs began to overwhelm the system funded by the state. Legislators face of budget crises in the early 1990, began to cut the funding, especially for children services.

The budget crisis has led to talk of Managed Care and Dir Marc Racicot, the administration finally a plan for taking over the management of the entire public system to a private company.

Anderson said that he and others thought that, Managed Care, Montana could be better services for the same amount of money. The private company is the creator of incitement to development - and cheaper - and local services to reduce restrictive and more expensive hospital services.

“We were so convinced that this is a fabulous idea that we are invited (managed care Company) to do much more than what we have to do basically the same amount of money,” said Anderson recalled.