Be Well Orange County (Be Well OC) launched its “Red Tape” campaign this week, calling on Orange County to remove access restrictions at two state-of-the-art behavioral health campuses in Irvine and Orange. One campus remains closed entirely, while the other operates under restrictions that limit access based on insurance type. According to Be Well OC Chairman Richard Afable, two-thirds of Orange County taxpayers who funded these facilities are denied access due to insurance restrictions. The Irvine Campus is ready to begin serving the community, but the County has not approved the sublease agreement, which has been submitted multiple times for approval and is preventing Be Well OC from entering leases with county-contracted providers.
Community Demand and Access Barriers
An independent survey conducted by Mackenzie Research among 403 Orange County residents from January 8-13 found strong community need for expanded behavioral health services. Sixty-five percent of respondents either personally sought behavioral health care or knew someone who did in the past year. Among those who sought help or knew someone who did, 28% were unable to access the care they needed. Overall, 66% of survey respondents said expanded behavioral health services are extremely or very urgent. The survey results are statistically valid at a 95% confidence level with a margin of error of approximately plus or minus 4.9%.
Additional Closures
The Sobering Center, which was also part of the behavioral health infrastructure, was closed by the Orange County Health Care Agency in 2024 without explanation and remains closed to date. Be Well OC emphasized that zero Orange County General Fund dollars—local discretionary tax dollars—were used to build the Be Well campuses, yet residents funded through taxes lack full access to the facilities.
Be Well OC launched a Change.org petition asking the County to deliver on its promises and open the Irvine Campus with full access regardless of insurance type. The organization stated that it looks forward to its day in court while remaining focused on making the campuses accessible to all Orange County residents.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/26/03/g51259543/be-well-oc-launches-red-tape-campaign-calling-for-full-access-to-behavioral-health-campuses