Agave Health Inc., one of the five mental health providers from Arizona, announced this Friday that they might be ending their service by the ends of June.

Agave Health Inc. has been running treatment programs in Bernalillo, Santa Fe and to about other 10 countries, serving to about 3,000 children and adults. Their reason to leave Albuquerque was the ongoing financial hardships, and with the Medicaid rate reductions that was the last call for the company to end up their service over this State.

Also, the company said that the company will continue providing service to their current customers for 90 days, working with four managed care organizations that are overseeing Medicaid’s payments for a transition to their patients to another provider to continue their treatments.

Agave Health Inc., one of the five mental health providers from Arizona, announced this Friday that they might be ending their service by the ends of June. Photo credit: Azcentral
Agave Health Inc., one of the five mental health providers from Arizona, announced this Friday that they might be ending their service by the ends of June. Photo credit: Azcentral

Dr. Heath Kilgore, the chief executive of Agave, with Jeff Jorde – President of the firm – stated that Agave is facing with insurmountable obstacles of financial hardships, with the rate reductions in Medicaid rates also, made the Board of Directors make this decision – Close Agave Health Inc.

Since Medicaid’s “new policies” many health companies are facing cuts to their rates that are providing care to their low-income patients – about 850,000 New Mexicans are on this health insurance coverage –. Payments cutoffs to providers are about $87 Million as a direct result during this year thanks to the legislative session. Also, federal matching funds factored that Medicaid might be facing a $417 million according to officials statements.

Agave Health is the third Arizona firm withdraws their service to New Mexico since 2013, where the state contracted them for $17 million, where an audit to 15 New Mexico providers may have commit Medicaid frauds that caused the state payments froze out.

Another company out: What were the others? 

One of them, called “La Frontera” stopped providing their services since last year. Also “Turquoise Health and Wellness” phased out their operations on New Mexico before “La Frontera” case.

The Human Services Department in June 2013 cut off Medicaid funding to 13 of 15 non-profit operating health behavioral due an audit that showed a $36 million in overbilling and mismanagement, leading to a possible fraud.

In 2014, over 160,000 New Mexicans received health services with most of them funded by Medicaid, stated by the Human Service Department.

Source: Albuquerque Journal