LAWMAKERS SEEK SOLUTIONS; STONEWALLED BY LEPAGE’S GAG ORDER

Budget writing committee grinds to halt with lack of information

AUGUSTA—The state’s budget writing committee convened today to address the ongoing management failures at the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), including the state’s bungled MaineCare rides system, the ongoing concerns about losing $20 million in federal funds for Riverview, and the $1 million no-bid contract to the Alexander Group.

No one from the LePage administration attended the meeting despite the committee’s request; however, when the meeting began, the committee received packets of information DHHS had provided to the Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday.

“Not being able to have conversations in real-time with the department is grinding our work to a halt. The work we do for the people of Maine is being compromised,” said Democratic Senator Dawn Hill of York, the Senate chair of the Appropriations Committee. “We want and need to be focused on solutions but when we are on a time-delay, solutions are nothing more than hypothetical.”

Much of the committee’s hour-long conversation about DHHS centered on the failed MaineCare transportation contract.

Democratic State Representative Peggy Rotundo of Lewiston asked, “Why isn’t the administration terminating this contract? How much longer can we go? The most vulnerable people in our state are not being served. These companies need to be held accountable for the work they have promised to do—and they aren’t.”

Earlier this week, the Legislature’s Health and Human Services committee convened to discuss the contract and learned that Connecticut-based Coordinated Transportation Solutions (CTS) had requested more money to execute its $28.3 million, one-year contract to broker rides to appointments for dialysis, mental health services, and other medical and nonmedical appointments. Citing an insufficient network of vehicles and drivers, CTS requested an unspecified amount of additional funding to its capitated contract.

Senator Hill added, “We’re well into five months of this contract. We’ve discussed the ongoing problems with CTS at every one of our meetings and I don’t recall this ever being brought up before.”

With no one from the Administration in attendance, the committee spent much of its time asking questions that remained unanswered.

Rep. Rotundo added, “When we don’t have people here from DHHS, we don’t know what  DHHS is working on, we can’t have confidence and we can’t craft a solution. This makes it very hard for us to work together to serve people in our communities, many of whom are not being served through this contract that the taxpayers are paying for.”

Governor LePage has barred commissioners from appearing before more than 30 committees in recent months. In a memo to legislative leaders earlier this year the Governor said the state would be governed by him not “committees.” In November, legislative committee chairs sent a letter to Governor LePage urging him to drop the gag order on his commissioners. Instead, the Administration has continued its policy of providing written answers to questions submitted by the committee. The practice does not allow for in-depth discussion, follow-up questions, or dynamic conversation.

Senator Hill told the committee about a phone call she received earlier this week where a transportation provider told her they can no longer provide services under the current ride-broker system and consequently, have given a 60 day notice of termination to the rides broker.

Senator Hill said, “If someone from the department were here today I would ask, ‘how many other service providers have given brokers notice of termination? And what’s going to happen when providers pull out?’ I can tell you, it will be total chaos.”

The committee next shifted to the nearly $1 million, no-bid contract to the Alexander Group to study the state’s anti-poverty programs and health care expansion. The no-bid contract includes the issuance of a five part study reviewing the impact of expanding the state’s health insurance program, Medicaid, under the terms of the Affordable Care Act.  The first study was due on December 1 but Alexander missed the deadline and to date has not submitted the report as stipulated in the nearly $1 million contract.

Democratic State Representative Mike Carey of Lewiston asked, “I’m left wondering, ‘did the Administration do a reference check and contact the Republican Administration in Pennsylvania?’ We’re talking about $1 million in taxpayer money. How do we know that Mr. Alexander is going to be a good steward of Maine taxpayer money? Mr. Alexander is already two weeks past deadline. He’s broken his first commitment to Maine.”

Many lawmakers cited concerns over Gary Alexander’s track record as Pennsylvania’s top health and human services officer where he chose to remove nearly 90,000 children from the state’s health care system. Additional questions arose about the reasons for Mr. Alexander’s removal from his Pennsylvania post and as well as allegations of mismanagement of $7 million to the state’s Medicaid system by Pennsylvania’s Auditor General.

This was the last meeting of the state’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee before the Legislature resumes session onJanuary 8, 2014.

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