AUGUSTA, Maine — A bipartisan legislative committee will take up a request for an investigation stemming from Democrats’ charge of a cover-up concerning state social services computers.
The Government Oversight Committee will meet on Tuesday to take up the request. Democrats last week accused the Republican administration of covering up information about malfunctioning Department of Health and Human Services computers that resulted in as many as 19,000 people erroneously receiving MaineCare services.
Democrats were angry because the alleged cover up occurred during deliberations that led to MaineCare cutbacks. Republicans say the administration was upfront with lawmakers about the computer problems as they were being discovered. The problems came to light publicly in early March.
Moot point compared to DHHS closet cover ups found from the previous admin.
Under who’s watch were these and the DMV malfunctioning computers purchased?
The fault lies with the outside firms that don’t deliver what they promise when they get hired to perform a contract and are not held responsible.
I agree. And also, the computer problems have been known for at least 5 years.
Yes, those dedicated, heard working public servants failed to write a contract that would hold the vendor accountable. Then they failed to benchmark the system. Then they failed to monitor the progress. Now they stand around like innocent bystanders and claim it was the vendors fault. What are we overpaying these people for anyway?
That’s the kind of response I expect from the party of Personal Responsibility…. but… but…. but… the other kids did it first (even though I have no proof).
The prior administration made plenty of mistakes.
This one however is owned lock stock and barrel by the Lepage administration and Commissioner Mayhew testified as such.
For some reason Lepage supporters keep trying to call Mayhew a liar in this regard. .
Commissioner Mayhew herself said that the problem was discovered just a
few weeks before the LePage administration took over and an urgent
change order was issued.
She also admitted that she and LePage completely dropped the ball by not
following up and said she is completely responsible. She apologized for
both the error in failing to follow up and not reporting it when it was known.
Are you calling Ms Mayhew a liar?
In any other business you have to pay for your mistakes. The citizens of Maine should file suit against the commissioner to recoup the taxpayers losses. If they don’t want to hold private companies responsible for shoddy work, then they should own it. If you paid a $1000 for a computer that didn’t work would you say, oh-well, I’ll keep it even though it doesn’t do what they promised it would. The waste in government needs to be stopped.
You’d have to go back a few years, and hit up Baldacci and former commissioner Brenda Harvey for reimbursement, since 98% of this mess belongs to them.
that would seem an appropriate description
You bet it is a cover-up. The computer ‘snafu’ was designed on purpose to conceal how much the connected people like Brenda Harvey, David Lawlor, Joe Brannigan, and Bobby Nutting are lining their pockets.
Mayhew resigns in disgrace
The only problem is that there is no one crazy enough to take her place…unless LePage has another unemployed relative in the wings.
How about L’Unconditioner? He’d like a cushy, high-paying job!
If the lack of truth forthcoming from Mayhew and her boss is not a cover-up, then it is gross incompetence. Either way, we need to know.
Has the computer system changed in the last ten years? If it has I have not heard about it. There certainly has not been a major program rewrite in the last three.
There is a lot on the web about DHHS and the ongoing Medicaid billing systems and the computers.
Maine has lost tens of millions in Federal Medicaid reimbursement levels from 2005-2010, due to the state’s faulty computer billing systems that didn’t meet Federal standards. Instead of the 75% reimbursement on each claim we should have received from the Feds, Maine only received 50% — for a full FIVE YEARS.
We were also penalized significant money, for the faulty systems. Not only was Maine handing out a higher level of Medicaid benefits all that time, we were being paid 25% less by the Feds as reimbursement.
http://www.pressherald.com/news/MaineCare-claims-management-system-passes-muster-.html
MaineCare Claims Management System Finally Passes Muster
http://www.cio.com/article/20133/Maine_s_Medicaid_Mistakes
History on Maine’s Medicaid Mistakes
No wonder Baldacci had to float so many supplemental budgets, and bond so much extra money over his 8 year administration.
Here’s a couple links.
I doubt that the investigation, if that’s what you want to call it, will turn up much. DHHS budgets have been a huge problem for the taxpayers of Maine for a long long time. Hopefully after we are done checking each other out and looking for things that someone forgot to do or say we can all sit down and try to solve this ongoing crisis and leave the stupid partisan politics out of it.