I am newly retired from full time work after providing mental health services for many years at a Federally Qualified Community Health Center.  I had agreed to continue to see about 15 of my long term, SPMI patients, all of whom are Medicare and/or Medicaid recipients.  When I discovered that my credentialing would not follow me  into a private practice, I sought out contracting with the managed care organizations and I was disappointed to learn that they were not interested in developing new contracts.  So, I am providing mental health services on a pro bono basis to patients who need this service and can not (or refuse to) see another provider. Please consider strongly encouraging the MCOs to be more flexible about their contracting.