JACKSON - State Rep. Steve Holland on Monday urged Gov. Haley Barbour to call a special session to deal with the financial hardships bearing down on the state's 15 community mental health centers.

While not committing to a special session, Barbour spokesman Dan Turner would not rule out the possibility.

"Obviously, the governor is aware there is a problem with the community mental health centers and their funding," Turner said late Monday. "We have been meeting with various parties to try to come up with a solution.

"We haven't ruled out a special session, but it is not the first option. We are still looking at what we can do and what we need to do."

Holland's comments came during a meeting of the Mental Health Joint Study Committee/Advisory Council, which the Legislature formed to look at mental health issues, including funding.

"People come into my office every day of my life with severe mental mental problems needing help," said the Democrat from Plantersville. "This needs to be resolved.

"The governor needs to call us back and let us wrestle with this. There is money out there" to fund the centers.

The panel heard a report on the possibility that some of the 15 community mental health centers could close when the fiscal year ends June 30 if they can't pay to the federal government the state's share of the match for treating Medicaid patients.

The 15 community health centers owe collectively about $12.5 million for this fiscal year.

For the current fiscal year and the upcoming budget year, the Legislature, with a tight budget, has not funded the state's share of the match for the community mental health centers.

For a time, the Department of Mental Health provided a portion of the Medicaid matching funds. But Mental Health Executive Director Ed LeGrand said his agency, facing a tight budget of its own, could no longer absorb those costs.

The centers said they cannot afford and do not believe they should pay all the costs, which could be as much as $36 million annually.

Jerry Mayo, executive director of the Pine Belt Community Mental Health Center in the Hattiesburg-Laurel area, said the centers have agreed to pay $10 million annually of the total Medicaid costs to the state.

"We want to be part of the solution," Mayo told the committee Monday.

The 15 community mental health centers operate independently and provide services for people dealing with mental illness, drug addictions, intellectual disabilities and others. The Department of Mental Health also contracts with the centers to provide community-based treatments, including for people who have been discharged from state institutions.

The centers receive funding from a tax levy in the counties in their service region. Robert Smith, executive director of the Region 3 center based in Tupelo, said in an earlier interview his facility receives some funds from treating patients with private insurance, and some funds from uninsured patients, based on their ability to pay.

But LeGrand said 80 percent of the centers' total revenue comes from treating Medicaid-eligible patients. If the centers can't pay the state match - and therefore can't treat Medicaid patients - many might cease to exist. LeGrand said the counties could contract with those centers that can pay the match to continue to provide services.

"I am optimistic we will work out a solution to this problem," LeGrand said. "It has to happen."

He said the state needs the community mental health centers to be in operation to fulfill the key role of providing services near the homes of the people needing services.

Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, who along with Holland co-chairs the special committee, said work also must be done to determine exactly what services the centers will provide. The standard of care offered by the centers varies from region to region.

Contact Bobby Harrison at (601) 353-3119 or bobby.harrison@djournal.com.