Judge denies appeal of $20M Riverview cut
A federal judge has denied Maine’s appeal of a $20 million cut to federal funding for the state-run Riverview Psychiatric Center.
The Sun Journal reported that the decision leaves lawmakers with the problem of filling that funding gap in addition to an overall budget gap expected to be nearly $100 million without the Riverview shortfall. Federal regulators withdrew funding for the state-run hospital after finding violations of federal rules during an unannounced inspection of the facility in March 2013.
Attorney General Janet Mills told the paper that she plans to appeal the decision by Administrative Law Judge Steven Kessel, who determined that a corrective action plan for the hospital did not achieve its goals. Mills said in a letter to legislators that the ruling was based on a “technicality.”
The paper reported the state’s Department of Health and Human Services also plans to reapply to the federal government in hopes of restoring the funding.
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