La Frontera has officially announced its intention to pull out of New Mexico in coming months.

This confirmation comes after an edict by La Frontera CEO Dan Ranieri on February 27 that the mental health company would leave New Mexico in 90 days if they did not receive payment and a pay increase by that time. La Frontera became a presence in Medicaid funded mental health care in the state after a series of controversial fraud allegations against standing sole community providers like Border Area Mental Health, which operated in Grant County.

In the wake of La Frontera’s first announcement, Senator Howie Morales organized a group of mental health providers as a task force to develop a plan should La Frontera indeed depart the state. In that time, the task force met weekly for the first month to find a way to care for the more than 500 patients under La Frontera’s care. The task force includes Hidalgo Medical Services, Gila Regional Medical Center, Border Area Mental Health, the Sierra Community Counseling Center, Recovery Management Center, and County Commissioner Ron Hall, bound together to form a safety net of mental care for the region.

Read more here: http://www.scdailypress.com/site/2015/04/20/grant-county-prepares-for-la-frontera-pullout/