This attorney would audit KanCare, but isn’t allowed to start yet
That's despite the fact that the Kansas Medicaid program, a privatized system called KanCare that provides health insurance for low-income and disabled residents, is moving forward with new contracts for insurance companies worth billions of dollars and will extend a contract with a company whose poor performance caused bureaucratic headaches for enrollees.
But the inspector general position continues to sit vacant a full legislative session after
A top Senate Republican said the timing wasn't good for a confirmation vote during the legislative session this spring, but he said he planned to hold a hearing on the nomination this fall.
In 2017, the Legislature passed a law creating a Medicaid inspector general position within the attorney general's office. The position had previously been located within the
On
The
"There's nothing (that has been) spent, no office set up, no staff hired -- we don't have anything done yet," said Rep.
Fertig needs to be confirmed by the
Senate Majority Leader
"I believe that file had been completed right before veto session when everything got back and clear," Denning said.
Denning indicated a vote wasn't held on Fertig during session because of the timing of the completion of the vetting process.
"Just the timing wasn't conducive for us," he said.
But Sen.
"The business of the state should be done," Bollier said.
"We're hopeful the Committee will take it up at its next meeting,"
When Schmidt announced Fertig's nomination, he said the inspector's general's purpose is to "establish a full-time program of audit, investigation and performance review to provide increased accountability, integrity and oversight of the state Medicaid program" and to improve program operations. He named "deterring and identifying fraud, waste, abuse and illegal acts" as part of the inspector general's mission.
The law also requires the inspector general to be independent and free from political influence.
"Having legitimate third-party oversight of a program like that is important. So I hope they get it going,"
The next few months mark a critical time for KanCare. In January, the state will begin new managed care contracts with three insurance companies. Each contract is worth about
The state also plans to extend a contract with Maximus to operate the KanCare Clearinghouse, a facility in
While the
"This whole fiasco with Maximus? They should be overseeing that," Bollier said of the inspector general.
The inspector general position has its own checkered past in
The position has remained vacant since, though KDHE periodically said it was attempting to fill it. In 2017, lawmakers voted to transfer the position to the attorney general's office.
"It's a very important function of the Medicaid system that we haven't used for years and we're trying to get up and running," Hawkins said.
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