By Dave Ranney
KHI News Service
TOPEKA, Jan.
8
The top official at the
Kansas Health Policy Authority
says the new agency”s plate is overloaded.
“We have to have additional staff,” said Executive Director Marcia Nielsen.
“So much of what we do now, staffing-wise, is rob Peter to pay Paul so we can move from one urgent issue to the next,” Nielsen said. “In the long term, that”s not going to lead to this agency being able to meet its goals.”
The health policy authority, which became operational in July,
is charged with administering the state”s
Medicaid
,
MediKan
,
HealthWave
and state employee health insurance programs.
Eventually, it”s expected to take on oversight of the state”s community mental health centers, drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities and long-term care programs.
Last month,
the health policy authority”s board voted not to take on any new responsibilities until it has significantly more staff.
Currently, the agency has 184 full-time employees. It has
asked lawmakers for 22 additional positions in the fiscal year that ends June 30, 2007; 20 more in Fiscal 2008.
These positions include:
*
Fiscal 2007
A deputy Medicaid director; eight accountants, auditors and budget managers; nine eligibility trainers and quality control personnel; four positions spread across human resources, purchasing, and technology support.
*
Fiscal 2008
A development officer; nine benefit managers, claim researchers, business analysts; 10 auditors, auditors and management staff.
The additional positions are expected to cost the State General Fund an extra $531,000 in Fiscal 2007; $813,000 in Fiscal 2008.
The health policy authority also has asked for an additional 21 workers for the Topeka-based clearing-house that processes Medicaid and HealthWave applications.
These employees, Nielsen said, are needed to offset a dramatic increase in paperwork in the aftermath of a July 1 rule requiring applicants to show proof of identity and citizenship.
Between October 2005 and July 2006, the clearing-house, on average, handled 1,990 letters and 3,901 faxes each month. In August 2006, the workload increased to 6,684 letters and 7,597 faxes.
Four of the new clearing-house workers will be employed by the health policy authority. The remaining 17 will work for Maximus, a private contractor that runs the clearing house.
These 21 workers are expected to cost the State General Fund $496,000 in Fiscal 2007; $573,000 in Fiscal 2008.
Maximus assembles and reviews the applications. Federal law requires the health policy authority to approve or deny the applications.
Currently, Maximus has 115 employees at the clearing house. The health policy authority has 35.
Nielsen said the health policy authority”s staffing shortage was especially apparent last fall when the agency had to prepare its budget for Fiscal 2008.
“Putting together a budget requires a number of staff with a significant amount of expertise,” Nielsen said. “We have some people with those kinds of skills
but not enough. So our Medicaid director, Scott Brunner, had to leave his position to build our budget, putting in 70 hours a week.”
Nielsen said Brunner”s Medicaid responsibilities were either “postponed or diverted to less-senior managers.” The arrangement, she said, was neither efficient nor appropriate.
“It”s very difficult to pull people out of their specific responsibilities and ask them to spend additional time
time they don”t have
on broader policy goals,” Nielsen said.
Dave Ranney is a staff writer for KHI News Service, which specializes in coverage of health issues facing Kansans. He can be reached at
dranney@khi.org
or at 785-233-5443, ext. 128.