AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage faces a new challenge in his plan to have an out-of-state contractor run a 21-bed psychiatric residence using money budgeted for community mental health services.
Attorney Daniel Wathen in a court filing Tuesday said Maine has accumulated over $5 million in unspent funds that Maine is legally obligated to spend on community mental health services.
Wathen said LePage’s administration shouldn’t follow through on plans to fund the residence with roughly $5 million of such funding. Wathen oversees mental health patients’ rights under a 1989 consent decree.
Wathen said he spoke with one medication management clinic that had a waitlist of 489 adults.
Tennessee-based Correct Care Recovery Solutions and Maine are negotiating a $60.3 million contract to run the residence. LePage’s administration didn’t immediately provide comment.
