Iowa’s top public health official says the governor’s plan to consolidate Iowa’s 13 mental health regions and 19 substance abuse treatment systems is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. Iowa Department of Health and Human Services director Kelly Garcia spoke to legislators Tuesday.
Under the governor’s proposal, seven behavioral health districts would be created. Marissa Eyanson (EYE-in-sin) is director of behavioral health at the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.
State health officials say the new behavioral health system would get rid of redundancies, provide a clear way for Iowans to access services, and put unused funding toward unmet needs. The proposal is part of the state’s effort to reach a negotiated settlement to a class-action lawsuit that calls the state’s mental health care system for children “inadequate, inaccessible and dysfunctional.”
