Oklahoma lawmakers grill mental health agency leader over budget gap

Yahoo

18-04-2025

A special committee in the Oklahoma House of Representatives opened its investigation into the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services on Thursday, throwing question after question at the agency's commissioner.
Allie Friesen, who spent more than two hours testifying in front of the committee, told lawmakers the agency faced a $43 million deficit. She also acknowledged that letters canceling some provider contracts were sent to the providers, though she said that happened without her knowledge.
Friesen said those letters referenced 'incentive or bonus payments.' Some mental health providers have complained, however, that they were notified that funds for services already provided may not come.
'As soon as I realized that those are functioning not as a bonus, but rather as a core component of care, we pivoted,' Friesen said. 'And we realized that we needed to quickly ask for a supplemental (appropriation), and we need to make sure that these providers have what they need.'
More: Fourth investigation launched into Oklahoma mental health department by House speaker
Friesen described inheriting a "chaotic" agency after Gov. Kevin Stitt appointed her as commissioner in January 2024. She said her priority has been to ensure people needing behavioral health services have access to "high quality and affordable care."
"It will not be — in fact it has not been — an easy process," she said. "In fact, it's been very painful and arduous process for our entire leadership team."
Lawmakers focused much of their questioning on the agency's funding gap. Rep. Mark Lawson, who chairs the special committee, asked when Friesen became aware of what looked like a $63 million budget hole. Friesen said she learned of the problem about six weeks ago. "We were alerted there were some potential problems with our Title 19 funding," she said. "The number at that point was not quite solid."
Friesen said Title 19 funds are used to cover behavioral health coverage that supplements Medicaid coverage. After an internal examination by some of the agency's administrators, that amount was reduced to $43 million, she said.
Lawson, R-Sapulpa, countered that he was concerned by the large budget gap framed against the agency's $6.2 million supplemental budget request to lawmakers. "What I am seeing is we still have a budget gap of $43 million," he said. "Yet we have a request for $6.2 million. And to me, $6.2 million is not $43 million."
Friesen said the agency's goal was to make sure lawmakers had a clear understanding of what was going on at the agency, what caused the agency's problems and what the plan was to move forward. She vowed to be transparent.
"Our goal is certainly to be a reliable, accountable and transparent organization," she said. "Unfortunately, that is not what this administration inherited."
Others who testified were Tulsa District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler, Tulsa police Lt. Amber McCarty and Tulsa Deputy Police Chief Mark Wollmershauser.
Kunzweiler questioned whether the agency had canceled its contracts with some Tulsa-area providers in a retaliatory move because those contractors had raised questions about how the contracts were reported.
During the hearing, lawmakers also asked about the new consent decree stemming from a 2023 lawsuit against the agency. The decree, negotiated by the governor's office, the attorney general's office and mental health agency, was approved unanimously by the House on a 91-0 vote.
Lawson said the ruling seeks to uphold due process for pretrial defendants awaiting mental health evaluations and competency restoration by mandating faster evaluations, expanded forensic resources and improved training.
'This is a critical moment for mental health services in Oklahoma,' Lawson said. 'We must balance compassion with accountability and ensure those in crisis receive the help they need, while taxpayers can trust their dollars are being spent wisely.'
The committee's investigation — which is expected to take several meetings — is one of four investigations of the agency. In addition to an audit by the state auditor's office, the agency is being examined by the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency and by an outside investigator tapped by Stitt.
House Speaker Kyle Hilbert said the House hearings were necessary so lawmakers could understand exactly what was happening at the agency. In addition to raising concerns about the agency's budget request, lawmakers also have questioned the departures of several agency administrators and the unknown use of $5 million allocated for an upgraded electronic medical records system.
'With just over a month remaining in the legislative session, this investigation is a top priority,' Hilbert said in a news release. 'Our goal is to understand the department's financial practices, ensure accountability and determine whether additional funding is truly necessary before the session concludes.'
The agency hearing is expected to continue next week.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma lawmakers grill state's mental health agency leader on budget