Jon Lender: Auditors slam Access Health CT for excessive severance payments, but agency is defiant
The quasi-public health agency failed to comply with a state statute requiring it to adopt and follow its own written procedures in hiring employees and contracting for services, the Auditors of Public Accounts said in a report released Tuesday.
But, instead of issuing a contrite or deferential response, as agencies generally do when they're criticized by the state's top financial watchdogs, the quasi-public health agency did the opposite.
The agency said it "employs individuals with industry experience to support its operations, and may require flexibility to support restructuring efforts periodically as it responds to a changing landscape. "
Latest scrape
This is only the latest scrape with state procedures or ethics laws involving the agency that was created by the legislature in 2011 to meet the requirements of the federal Affordable Care Act, commonly called "Obamacare."
In December of last year, its former CEO,
The new criticism by the state auditors comes about a year and a half after a Government Watch column reported that four top
Their severance pay came in the form of biweekly paychecks that continued for six months after the termination date for each. Their health insurance coverage continued during those months. When asked at the time what the reasons for the high-level departures, the agency's spokesperson said: "
The severance payments were questioned as excessive in
The four high-level people terminated -- and their former job titles and salaries -- were
The new auditors' report uncovered an additional dozen
"In addition, these employees continued to receive medical and dental insurance benefits for as long as 1 to 6 months after termination," said the report, signed by principal auditor
But Andrews, the
She was critical of
The auditors' report continued: "Severance payments, which were not included in the adopted budget, were not approved by the [Access Health CT] board of directors," adding that from now on the board "should approve non-budgeted severance payments in excess of
The auditors' report included the agency's response: "The board of directors approves all non-budgeted expenditures in excess of
Another auditors' finding was that four purchase orders "were approved after the receipt of goods or services" by
Kane's fellow chief auditor,
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