This report assesses the fiscal impacts of inpatient and long-term care bed closures at the Milwaukee County Mental Health Complex and considers how a redesigned system of care will impact the Behavioral Health Division’s (BHD) financial future.
We analyze financial trends and recent budget developments, and then model the fiscal impacts of 60-, 32-, and 16-bed adult inpatient scenarios for 2017. The modeling exercise reveals estimated savings from continued bed reductions and highlights the following fiscal constraints:
- The Mental Health Complex’s indirect costs are only loosely linked to its bed capacity, and this factor will continue to curtail savings associated with future downsizing initiatives.
- Because key components of BHD’s indirect cost structure are linked to its existing facility and its treatment as a department of Milwaukee County government, it has limited options to reduce indirect costs.
- The cost pressures associated with BHD’s emergency room facility also erode savings from inpatient downsizing and reduce amounts available for community reinvestment.