Pa. reprieve over free rides for mental-health patients

After a groundswell of opposition, the state has retreated on a plan to stop giving mentally ill patients free transportation to psychiatric rehab centers.

In a letter sent Friday to providers, a ranking official at the Pennsylvania Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services said administrators "are beginning to realize the transforming impact of this vital service" and asked local agencies to keep paying for transportation while the practice gets reviewed.

The news followed a campaign by mental-health advocates, providers, and their clients, who argued that potentially thousands of people relied on the free rides each week to get to recovery centers that teach job and life skills.

Lu Mauro, the director of a Sellersville, Bucks County, clubhouse that serves 120 people, said her clients were ecstatic when she shared the news.

"They almost brought the house down with their cheers," said Mauro, an advisory board member of the state Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services.

The uproar began last month when the state notified county agencies and providers that it would no longer reimburse for transportation to psychiatric rehabilitation services.

According to the letter from Sherry H. Snyder, acting deputy secretary of the Office of Mental Health, the decision stemmed from two factors: an 11 percent cut in the state budget for the Medical Assistance Transportation Program, and a recognition that Medicaid funds were not supposed to be used to cover such costs.

Many counties aren't in a position to pick up the tab. Patrick Bokovitz, the executive director of Chester County's Department of Community Development, estimated that his county spent at least $500,000 last year providing rides for 114 clients.

Advocates for the mentally ill feared that, without free rides, many clients couldn't access services they need.

"With most counties that aren't an urban county, transportation is really an issue," said Gary Entrekin, Chester County's mental-health administrator.

The Sellersville clubhouse, for instance, provided more than 220 trips for clients in May, according to Mauro. She said the site couldn't be reached by public transportation.

The new directive was supposed to take effect Friday. Michael Race, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Welfare, said officials decided to postpone that deadline after hearing widespread opposition.

"We don't want anybody who's undergoing a regimen of treatment to suddenly see that treatment stop because of a billing issue," Race said.

He and others noted, however, that the reprieve could be temporary if officials couldn't find a funding solution.

Said Mauro, "We bought some time."

or jmartin@phillynews.com.