SAN FRANCISCO—On Tuesday, October 6, an agreement pending approval was reached between Nevada and the city and county of San Francisco.
Nevada has agreed to pay the city of San Francisco in regards to a case that accuses Nevada of wrongfully and intentionally sending psychiatric patients to San Francisco without any intention of paying the costs that comes with patient care.
This is a tentative agreement that will be reviewed by both the Nevada Board of Examiners and the same board that is located in San Francisco. The costs of an agreement will be $400,000.
Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval released the following statement on Tuesday: “We look forward to working with California to ensure all patient transfers to and from both states are managed using these best practices and adhering to conditions detailed in the agreement.”
This case dates back to September 2013, when it was reported by the Sacramento Bee that patients discharged from Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital in Las Vegas was given bus tickets to California and informed that their next course of action would be to seek additional care in California.
The legal battle between the city and state has been expensive due to the longevity of the case. The case has costs the state of Nevada $1.9 million, solely for fighting the lawsuit. The exact amount the battle has cost has yet to be determined. Information related to the costs that has been amounted for the city of San Francisco has not been disclosed.
According to reports, 1,500 patients were sent packing to California and 46 other states between 2008 and 2013. No documentation for their healthcare needs were sent along with them, so healthcare officials did not know what kind of meds, diets, schedules that these patients had been adhering to at the medical facility in Nevada.
Nevada was quick to improve their conditions after the situation was made public and supplied $30 million in order to fund mental health services. It is expected that at the end of this agreement both the Nevada Board of Examiners and the board in San Francisco will also discuss ways to improve the situations of those in need of psychiatric attention between the two areas.
The settlement is predicted to be put to a vote by the Nevada Board of Examiners during their meeting on October 13.
