The head of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services said the agency has nearly cleared its backlog of incomplete contracts that risked people’s access to health services.
However, some organizations claim that the state still owes them tens of thousands of dollars for the funds already provided.
Director Charlie Brereton told state lawmakers at an assembly of the Interim Committee on Children, Families, Health and Human Services on Jan. 18 that the company was nearly done finalizing contracts with organizations that provide public fitness services.
“We have been working around the clock all fall and winter to detect this factor and we hope it never happens again,” Brereton said.
Brereton’s comments to lawmakers came after several statewide fitness providers, adding county fitness chapters and behavioral fitness providers, told KFF Health News and other news organizations that they had waited months for the branch to approve or renew their contracts. As a result, the state did not reduce controls on benefits and staff remained unpaid; some physical care organizations have laid off staff and discontinuedArray
The state fitness arm works with more than 4,000 Montana public and personal contractors. More than 700 of them had contracts that needed to be reviewed between June and December. Some suppliers said that at one point more than 200 contractors were involved, several of which state officials declined to verify this.
Brereton told lawmakers there may still be a handful of outstanding contracts “for a variety of reasons,” but those that remain are a top priority.
Jon Ebelt, a spokesman for the Department of Health, did not say how many contracts remained outstanding as of Jan. 23, but said those that did were “long-standing and complicated. “
A finalized document does not solve the challenge of those who are still waiting for payment.
The Missoula City-County Health Department is among the organizations that dipped into local government reserves to keep programs running while waiting for the state to approve two contracts. The department’s health officer, Damian Chase-Begay, said the state still owed it about $69,000 in back payments as of Jan. 19 for work done in October and November. Those payments cover the department’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children services.
At the same time, the county’s fitness branch is still waiting for a final $293,000 contract for a program that would give families access to public fitness nurses, social staff and other in-network fitness professionals.
Ebelt responded about the amount of money the state owes organizations in retroactive wages.
“The agency’s leadership has directed all systems to generate remarkable invoices to ensure payment,” Ebelt said. “However, some contractors still have to invoice according to the terms of their contracts. Invoices will be paid upon receipt.
Don Roberts, who runs a Ronan center for addicts on the Flathead Indian Reservation, said Jan. 19 that he was also waiting for a final contract from the state and to be paid for months of work. Roberts listened to state health officials. He says his case is close to being settled and filed expenses dating back to October, he said.
“I’m going to buy that egg when I see it in my basket,” Roberts said.
His company, Never Alone Recovery Support Services, had been without the contract covering the center’s payroll for more than 3 months. Roberts said he and other staff discovered part-time jobs this month, leaving unpredictable schedules for what is a resource for other people in crisis.
Roberts said health officials contacted him after he spoke with KFF Health News about the delays.
“The only thing I can say for sure is that, all of a sudden, talks resume,” he said. “Before, we were just in the dark. “
Brereton told lawmakers that the branch did not send a large letter to its thousands of contractors because of a “widespread panic” among organizations that were not affected.
Kim Aiken, chief financial officer of the Ministry of Health, said the company began to recognize the severity of its delay in the fall.
The delay is the result of a combination of factors, he explained. The State Administration Breakdown has emphasized rigorous legal reviews of contracts and has focused more on compliance. And a new rule requires Montana to verify that contractors don’t discriminate against opposites. to companies that manufacture or sell firearms. The state also had more contracts to manage than usual, which Aiken said was in part similar to Montana’s developmental disability and behavioral fitness systems overhaul projects.
Another problem, Aiken said, is turnover within the fitness branch and the management branch, which helps manage state contracts.
He said, among other things, that the ministry would create an agency-wide contract tracking formula and that fitness officials were collaborating with the Ministry of Administration to standardize contract templates. He also said the Ministry of Health was contemplating more education and equipment to prevent staff turnover.
“We’re in every single facet of what went wrong,” Aiken said.
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The head of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services said the agency has nearly cleared its backlog of incomplete contracts that risked people’s access to health services.
However, some organizations claim that the State still owes them tens of thousands of dollars for the funds already contributed.
Director Charlie Brereton told state lawmakers at an Interim Committee on Children, Families, Health and Human Services meeting on Jan. 18 that the company was nearly done finalizing contracts with organizations that provide public fitness services.
“We’ve been working around the clock throughout the fall and winter to catch this factor and hope it never happens again,” Brereton said.
Brereton’s comments to lawmakers came after several fitness providers in the state, adding county fitness chapters and behavioral fitness providers, told KFF Health News and other news outlets that they had waited months for the branch to approve or renew their contracts. As a result, the State failed to reduce service checks and staff were left without pay; Some fitness organizations have laid off staff and discontinued their parent company
The state fitness arm works with more than 4,000 Montana public and personal contractors. More than 700 of them had contracts that needed to be reviewed between June and December. Some suppliers said that at one point more than 200 contractors were involved, several of which state officials declined to verify this.
Brereton told lawmakers there may still be a handful of outstanding contracts “for a variety of reasons,” but those that remain are a top priority.
Jon Ebelt, a spokesman for the Department of Health, did not say how many contracts remained outstanding as of Jan. 23, but said those that did were “long-standing and complicated. “
A finalized document doesn’t immediately solve the problem for those still waiting for payments.
The Missoula City Health Department is among the organizations that have tapped into local government reserves to keep systems running while waiting for the state to approve two contracts. The department’s health official, Damian Chase-Begay, said the state still owes him about $69,000 in arrears as of Jan. 19 for work done in October and November. These bills cover the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.
At the same time, the county’s fitness branch is still waiting for a final $293,000 contract for a program that provides families with access to public fitness nurses, social staff and other in-network fitness professionals.
Ebelt answered how much cash the state owes the organizations in retroactive wages.
“Agency control has directed all systems to accumulate unpaid expenses to ensure payment,” Ebelt said. “However, some contractors have not yet invoiced their invoices according to the terms of their contracts. Invoices will be paid upon receipt.
Don Roberts, who runs a Ronan center for addicts on the Flathead Indian Reservation, said Jan. 19 that he was also waiting for a final contract from the state and to be paid for months of work. Roberts listened to state health officials. He says his case is close to being settled and filed expenses dating back to October, he said.
“I’m going to buy that egg when I see it in my basket,” Roberts said.
His company, Never Alone Recovery Support Services, had been without the contract that covers the center’s payroll for more than three months. Roberts said he and other workers picked up part-time jobs this month, leaving unpredictable hours for the site that’s a resource for people in crisis.
Roberts said he was contacted by Fitness after speaking with KFF Health News about the delays.
“All I can say for sure is that, all of a sudden, conversations are being had again,” he said. “Before, it was just nothing, we were just in the dark.”
Brereton told lawmakers that the branch did not send a large letter to its thousands of contractors because of a “widespread panic” among organizations that were not affected.
Kim Aiken, chief financial officer of the Ministry of Health, said the company began to recognize the severity of its delay in the fall.
The delay is the result of a combination of factors, he explained. The State Administration Breakdown has emphasized rigorous legal reviews of contracts and has focused more on compliance. And a new rule requires Montana to verify that contractors don’t discriminate against opposites. to companies that manufacture or sell firearms. The state also had more contracts to manage than usual, which Aiken said was in part similar to Montana’s developmental disability and behavioral fitness systems overhaul projects.
Another problem, Aiken said, is turnover within the fitness branch and the management branch, which helps manage state contracts.
He said, among other things, that the ministry would create an agency-wide contract tracking formula and that fitness officials were working with the Ministry of Administration to standardize contract models. He also said that the Ministry of Health was contemplating more education and equipment to prevent staff from rotating.
“We’re in every single facet of what went wrong,” Aiken said.
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