Blistering Criticism By Democrats and Republicans on Raimondo Administration’s Legal Bungling
Tuesday, June 05, 2018
The criticism is growing from all political corners on Governor Gina Raimondo’s administration’s failure to respond to a court decision — a blunder that could cost the state more than $24 million.
Independent gubernatorial candidate Joe Trillo is calling on Raimondo to fire employees responsible and is calling her administration an “epic failure.”
“Missing a judicial appeal deadline clearly demonstrates that in an election year, when things like this are so important, the governor still cannot fix a problem and she can’t even select the appropriate professionals to fix the problem. How can we trust the resources of a $9 plus billion budget in the hands of such incompetence,” said Trillo.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTEarlier this year, Superior Court Judge Lanphear ruled that the Raimondo administration had no legal authority to use a one-year rate reduction of 2 percent that ran from July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016, when it estimated how much to pay the nursing homes in the following years. The judge decided that at the end of that year, the rates should have reverted to what they were before the cut.
“It has recently come to light that the state missed a critically important May 23 deadline for appealing an April 9 ruling by Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Lanphear. Missing that deadline, giving the state an opportunity to overturn that decision, now requires the state to pay nearly $8 million in payments to dozens of nursing homes. This didn’t have to happen! Time and time again Rhode Island taxpayers have been put on the hook for Governor Raimondo’s mismanagement, and I’m sick of it,” said Trillo.
GOP Attack
The Republican Party said today in a press release, “Under Governor Gina Raimondo, R.I. Health & Human Services failed to file an appeal of a court decision, which could cost the state $24 million. This is the same agency which is responsible for the UHIP debacle. Gregory Hazian, who failed to file the appeal, is a Mattiello donor who volunteered on Mattiello’s campaign in 2016. Eric Beane, who heads the agency that failed to file the appeal, previously served as Raimondo’s deputy chief of staff.”
Chairman Brandon S. Bell said: “They should all be fired. This is gross incompetence. First, Hazian, then Beane, and finally the voters should fire Raimondo herself. Four years of incompetence is enough. Let’s get people working at Health and Human Services who know what they are doing.”
According to GOP Gubernatorial candidate Allan Fung’s campaign, “Rhode Islanders are now on the hook for even more incompetence at EOHHS - this time, not her self-imposed UHIP debacle - but a failure to do the very basics correctly by not bothering to file a judicial appeal on a case costing state taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.”
“Leadership needs to be held accountable. A lawyer that deletes email and doesn't even bother to file an appeal should be fired. A cabinet secretary who isn't paying attention to a case worth tens of millions of dollars, needs to be fired. And this Governor and her reckless incompetence must go,” said Fung.
Democratic challenger Matt Brown was equally critical, “Yesterday we learned that the state’s failure to file a 'timely' court appeal has opened up a budget sinkhole that could require the retroactive payment of millions of Medicaid dollars to dozens of nursing homes. The financial consequences are so potentially large they could seriously affect legislators’ plans to roll out a new state budget this coming week.
“Raimondo’s absenteeism and gross negligence have caused enormous harm to Rhode Islanders and cost the state millions. Just two months ago in April, we learned that the state has been unable to apply for $100 million in Medicaid reimbursements because of Raimondo’s mismanagement. In May we learned that the Raimondo administration misled lawmakers about indicted call center leader Richard Noceto. Every month it’s more scandal and mismanagement,” said Brown in a statement.
No word from the Governor’s office on Monday regarding the issue.
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