AUGUSTA, Maine — Lawmakers on Tuesday authorized a probe of the Department of Health and Human Services over recent computer problems that led to thousands of ineligible people receiving MaineCare services.
Sen. Roger Katz, R-Augusta, and Rep. David Burns, R-Whiting, co-chairmen of the Government Oversight Committee, asked the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability for a “rapid response review” of DHHS specifically related to the computer system glitch.
“There appears to be a major breakdown in communication at the department … that never made its way up the chain of command,” Katz said. “One of most important issues here is that the Legislature has to be able to depend on information from all agencies, particularly as we make budget decisions.”
The communication problem goes back at least to 2010, so it has spanned two governors’ administrations — one a Democrat, the other a Republican. Katz pointed that out because he didn’t want the matter to turn into a partisan dispute.
However, Democrats already have accused the LePage administration of covering up the computer malfunctions and deliberately withholding information.
Sen. Joseph Brannigan, D-Portland, initially called for an investigation late last month during a press conference, an event that was criticized as political theater by Republicans.
Republicans now say a probe is warranted.
DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew has told lawmakers she plans to get to the bottom of the computer glitch and is tentatively scheduled to appear before the Appropriations Committee later this month. An independent review of DHHS prompted by the erroneous MaineCare payments is already under way, led by the Department of Administrative and Financial Services with support from the office of the state controller.
“Our organization is large and our day-to-day world is complex,” Mayhew said last month. “Potential problems arise with regularity and are resolved continuously. I plan to do this work in a way that continues to reflect a high level of professionalism, transparency, personal accountability, courtesy and respect.”
Burns said it was important that OPEGA’s review is narrowly focused.
“If we include every concern, it’s going to take months or years,” he said. “We need to see what we’re dealing with first and then go from there.”
Beth Ashcroft, OPEGA’s director, is expected to report back within the next few months.
The problems at DHHS have emerged amid sometimes-tense budget negotiations.
Lawmakers spent several weeks in January and February poring over the details of a proposed $220 million budget by Gov. Paul LePage that attempted to address a shortfall in DHHS.
The initial budget proposal contained a number of cuts to MaineCare services, including the elimination of an estimated 65,000 people from eligibility.
The Appropriations Committee eventually rewrote the governor’s budget proposal and the House and Senate passed a bill last month that addressed the shortfall just for the remainder of fiscal year 2012.
Shortly after the 2012 supplemental budget passed, though, Mayhew informed lawmakers of a problem she said she knew about while the budget was being discussed.
A computer error within the MaineCare program had led the state to continue paying medical bills for some beneficiaries after they became ineligible for the program. DHHS is trying to attach a dollar figure to the payments made over the last year and a half for ineligible beneficiaries, and it’s likely the state will have to repay the federal government. Two-thirds of MaineCare’s funding comes from the federal government.
How many people actually received benefits that they were ineligible for is likely to be a key part of the OPEGA investigation.
The Legislature still has to deal with an estimated 2013 shortfall at DHHS of $85 million to $90 million and some lawmakers are wondering how that will be accomplished given the department’s recent track record in managing the MaineCare program.
The current session is expected to wrap up this week or next but lawmakers will be summoned back to the State House in May to vote on the 2013 DHHS budget.
On the same day lawmakers authorized the OPEGA investigation, the Maine Senate gave initial approval to a bill that would restructure the department.
Gov. Paul LePage and his administration introduced the bill last month as part of an effort to streamline state government’s largest agency. LD 1887 consolidates four DHHS offices into two and reorganizes another, resulting in a net loss of 36 positions, many of which are vacant at the moment.
Many Democrats on Tuesday protested what one senator called “a terrible bill,” but it still passed after considerable debate on Tuesday. The measure requires additional votes in the House and Senate.
Follow BDN reporter Eric Russell on Twitter at @BDNPolitics.
We’re all on the edge of of seats wondering about the outcome of this “Rapid Response Review.” Okay let me ease your tensions right now. They will find that there has been some poor communication among various underlings at DHHS but those at the top and those in or connected to the Blaine House have done no wrong. “Business” as usual, nothing to see or learn here folks move along, move along.
Typical republicans attempting to cover up the problem to protect their “Is glorious Hero” by a narrow focused rapid response. What is needed is a complete audit by an independent auditor with no ties to either party. It is time to fix this mess and not worry about who gets the blame.
Anybody notice “Republican Response Review” instead of a complete AUDIT!!!!
Please explain to me how this has anything to do with LePage. Why would he have caused this “glitch?” Why would he cover it up? And why would he be the one responsible when this issue spans two administrations?
If you are really interested in learning why why why , which I highly suspect you aren’t, I suggest you go back and read over the numerous articles that have been published in regards to this subject matter. I hope I have been able to contribute in some small way to your becoming self educated on current events.
How prudent is it to propose and sign legislation giving businesses a tax cut, when you know that DHHS is all screwed up? How prudent is it not to urge the replacement of a questionable computer system and give out said business cuts? How prudent is it to misinform, twice, the legislative committee that oversees such expenditures? He covered it up, because he wanted his own political proposals to fly through in one of his creative chaos emergencies……and it back fired on him. Get over it, he screwed up, and he screwed up bad.
Lepage came into the legislative hearing when Mayhew was testifying and sat there staring at her then left when she was done.
That behavior was bizarre (even for him) but it does make sense it you consider that he may have been trying to intimidate her into not disclosing the truth.
Why does everything have to be political? In no stretch of the imagination does this “glitch” have to do with LePage, or Baldacci. This issue spans two administrations and has everything to do with the DHHS, and nothing to do with Republicans or Democrats.
The problem is that this agency has been hemorrhaging taxpayer funds for years. I’d love to see ANYONE stop this, and I support ALL efforts to do so.
One of the larger problems is that the Federal Government (Since L.B.J.) changes the rules on a regular basis, and their computers, indeed, do not play nice with State computers, The big States like New York, California, Florida, Texas, and Virginia hire teams of ex-government officials to keep their systems in line with current law. Smaller States like Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Wyoming, and Montana are playing constant “catch-up” on this front. Without good professional help, dealing with Medicaid laws alone is a nightmare.
Trying to make this a political issue may very well get the masses fired up, but the problem is when the next administration takes the reigns, the problem will still be there, ripe for more sniping.
Their analysis will be it’s the previous administration’s fault. The will insinuate that It’s got to be their fault, because we don’t know what we are doing yet. But, it’s still a good sign that this Legislature has had enough of LePage’s antics……regretfully for them, it’s too late.
And, if the Commissioner and the Governor could not tell the Appropriations Committee (the legislature’s most powerful committee) the correct numbers, (which were never correct due to their little computer problem) OR let them know that there was a computer discrepency…….what on earth makes one think that they (the Dept. and the governor) are going to be forthright with this oversight committee???
Exactly rusjan. We can put people on the moon but can’t figure out how to run these computers that “don’t play well together”? Apparently, there are none so deaf as those that don’t want to hear. This part of the problem is a separate issue.
The real issue here is the cover up and the timing, another slick move (one of many that are flying by so fast there’s a G-Force (little pun)) which cannot be blamed on any prior administrations.
Just like Social Security, DHHS is the scapegoat for all the evils of politics. They play with the funds and take advantage of those who cannot or won’t fight back. It’s been said that a society can be judged by how it treats the oldest and the youngest.
The solution is having the fox watch the chicken coop?
A rapid review is exactly what is not needed. I’m not sure if anybody has noticed, but right now our State DHHS is in a complete state of chaos, mostly because of the brash, impulsive actions of the Penguin administration. What we need to do is slow down, take a breath and put an adult, not a politician, in charge of understanding how to get this agency back on track.
The idea that this is begin spun as a computer glitch is both hilarious and deeply concerning.
Yeah right. The computer Glitch during the Baldacci (39 Million lost) and the computer glitch during the King administration (27Million “misplaced”) and the computer glitch during the McKernan administration (Billed medicaid for non medical services provided within the Maine Youth Center) were all “hilarious and deeply concerning.” to you?
Where do you suppose you will find a “non-political adult” who would get the agency back on track? Fot the entire 45 years I have been watching Human Services the leadership position has ALWAYS been political.
Bravo you are absolutely right. Best way to get the recalcitrant Democrats to do an audit is to get them to lead the charge. I think it will be found that there is enough blame to go around but may find some “brain storms” from the past may come back to bight them. May be even take a nip out of that so called Independent Angus King.
There are 12 reports on OPEGA’s website on DHHS that were published during the Baldacci administration.
Time for LePage and his supporters to stop whining and welcome the same level of scrutiny that the prior administration received.
There is enough dirt there to bury EVERYONE involved for the last 14 years, Dem Repub AND Ind.
There in lies part of the problem. Those reports were “shelved” with no action taken! Thus, the comment about recalcitrant Democrats. From my reading in the BDN, even common sense suggestions for improvement were ignored.
But it’s not an audit.
for sure this is a long lived problem that spans many administrations. There is no way LePage has even had time to get his name on any of the DHS issues in question. For many years (computer glitches” have been the advertised problem. I’m sure lots of Dems will try and tie Lepage into these problems in order to sterilize their party from them. Hard to sterilize from 40 years of ownership of the problem.
NONE of your posted remarks address the actions or inactions of THIS administration, of this commissioner’s failure to alert lawmakers to a problem, nor does it address the issue that if they knew that the computer system was suspect, then why didn’t they change it or monitor it closely.
All cabinet appointments are political……..you must not have paid attention in government class. Your pointing fingers at prior administrations and are not holding this administration accountable……that’s about the only thing that is predictable in this mess. And, according to you, the 27 million and the 39 million afforded to the other administrations still doesn’t add up to 220 million that this governor has. How is a governor, such as King, responsible for this governor’s ineptitude? King was governor 9 years (nearly a decade) ago! It appears that you seek blame rather than a solution, if blame is what you seek, and regarding this issue, then you need to start at the Blaine House and look south towards the DHHS building not far away.
My post was a direct reply to another poster. who claims: “,,, our State DHHS is in a complete state of chaos, mostly because of the brash, impulsive actions of the Penguin administration.” I was pointing out that D.H.H.S. and its predecessor D.H.S. has been in “chaos” for as long while.
That poster ALSO wrote “put an adult, not a politician, in charge of understanding how to get this agency back on track.” therefor my response regarding the appointed position of “commissioner”
You must not have paid attention in debating class class.
So they sat back and pushed a tax cut while they knew we had a huge problem with DHHS! Wow!
I think that’s the issue.
The whole system is flawed from administration to the people that abuse the services provided.
The glitch is a human glitch. A person inputs that information and a person removes that information so no benefits are paid out. Make them accountable. ..and how are the Maine Taxpayers getting their money back from the people who stole it? I would like to know that from DHHS.
Who “stole” money?
The only ones who got paid were medical providers who delivered services and goods for that payment.
>>>>
‘Bout time.
Borrowed from a Facebook post:
State returns flawed DHHS computer to Toys-R-Us, in exchange for a full case of Silly Putty. Good thing they didn’t want an Etch a Sketch because they’re out of stock….
I heard they are going to rename the etch-a sketch the Mitt-a-sketch.
Keep your Mitts off my etch a sketch please.
sadly there are many models to choose from
Sounds like a good plan to me
maybe some of those erroneous payments were made to the methadone clinic recipients, wouldn’t that be to bad? that is definately money lost.
Wait a minute …… lack of communication at the lower levels. Why? But when Mayhew found out about the problems in January … she still didn’t communicate to her colleagues during the the budget talks. She waited till March. The problem is at the top. If she can’t manage and communicate to her staff and set an example …..then we need someone who can.
If there was ever a better opportunity to get an unbiased inspection and review of what’s been going on at the DHHS, this is it. If the OPEGA and the House Democrat’s can agree to it, I for one would suggest that this is ‘the time’ to take up the Fed’s HHS on their offer to help and get both the DHHS computer mess fixed but also to get the same system talking to the Fed’s system, which is what caused all of this in the 1st place. These opportunity’s don’t come around very often, more so since the current political environment is so toxic right now. This opportunity is one that both side’s can benefit from, not to mention the taxpayer’s.