APS3.jpg

Decreased funding and changes in the model for mental health coverage have forced Alabama Psychiatric Services to shut its doors, effective Feb. 13, according to a statement released by the company.

A letter to patients posted in the office of Alabama Psychiatric Services on Montclair Road

The statewide psychiatric care group announced the closure yesterday to employees and posted signs in its offices blaming the closure on Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama. According to the letter to patients posted in an office on Montclair Road, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama recently shifted several members to plans with higher co-pays and deductibles, and reduced membership in a plan that sustained Alabama Psychiatric Services.

The company has locations in Birmingham, Cullman, Decatur, Dothan, Fairhope, Florence, Madison, Mobile, Montgomery and Tuscaloosa, according to the website. The closure will affect 250 employees and 28,000 patients. Employees will not receive severance pay or any pay for unused vacation days, according to several sources.

Richard Craig, executive director of the Jefferson, Blount, St. Clair Counties Mental Health Authority, said employees at his agency have been working with insurance providers to find new providers for patients treated at facilities run by Alabama Psychiatric Services.

Craig said he didn't know yet how the closure will affect access to mental health care in Alabama.

"The physicians who work there will hopefully find new employment," Craig said.

A patient who did not want to be named said she was shocked by the news. She has been receiving treatment from Alabama Psychiatric Services for 10 years, and has good relationships with her therapists and psychiatrists.

"We have an established relationship," the patient said. "They know my situation. They understand my diagnosis. They know the medication that I'm currently on."

A disruption in care could damage her mental and emotional health, she said. Her medications need to be adjusted and refilled every four or five months.

Joy Doering, president of the National Alliance for Mental Illness chapter in Birmingham, said there is already a shortage of psychiatrists in Alabama, even for patients with insurance.

Patients in Alabama who need to be treated for mental illness are running out of places to turn, Doering said. Just last month, state officials announced the closure of the North Alabama Regional Hospital, which was the last state psychiatric facility outside of Tuscaloosa.

"There is a shortage of psychiatrists in Alabama," Doering said. "And twenty-five percent of the population suffers from mental illness. That is a fact."

Executives at Alabama Psychiatric Services notified Blue Cross Blue Shield on Friday that they were closing all their offices across the state, wrote spokeswoman Koko Mackin in an email.

"Blue Cross is working diligently to minimize any inconvenience these office closures may cause for our members and their families," Mackin wrote. "We are disappointed about these closures and are doing everything we can to assist our members during this transition."

Mackin did not comment on allegations that coverage changes by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama led to the closure.

In the letter, executives from Alabama Psychiatric Services pledged to help patients transition to new care providers. A copy of the statement is available here.

Updated at 1:33 p.m. with information from Blue Cross Blue Shield. Updated at 2:25 p.m. with comments from Joy Doering. Updated at 4:30 with a statement from Alabama Psychiatric Services.