The editorial on March 16 commented on the Department of Health and Human Services.

DHHS has an opportunity to lead and manage a new initiative with success if done with input and guidance from all stakeholders and in a reasonable time frame.

DHHS stands poised to make major changes in our mental health care delivery system in order for services to be more effective, efficient and consistent. This system, called managed care, ensures that consumers receive the right service in the right setting for the right duration at a reasonable cost.

I support the goals and the values promoted by the DHHS leadership in this initiative.

The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill has rated Maine as the fifth best state in the nation in providing for people with mental illness.

This level of accomplishment offers substantive recognition to the consumers, families, advocates, providers and all three branches of government that have committed so much for so long to make this happen.

The report does make one observation – the plan to superimpose managed care has an absurdly unrealistic timeline.

The experiences of other states clearly indicate that risk surfaces quickly in moving to a managed care system when all stakeholders are not prepared.

The state must assure that everyone is ready. DHHS leadership must make sure that the financing mechanisms work and that the services and the providers of those services on the community level are ready for the change.

Leadership speaks loudest when listening the hardest.

Craig Phillips, executive director

Common Ties Mental Health Coalition, Lewiston