Raimondo’s UHIP “Decisiveness” Four Months Too Late - Leaders Blame Gov & Roberts

Friday, January 13, 2017

GoLocalProv News Team and Kate Nagle

Governor Gina Raimondo announced on Thursday that she took “decisive action” nearly four months following the botched UHIP rollout, by accepting the resignations of two high level staffers, and withholding millions in payments to vendor Deloitte.

Critics of UHIP, which has adversely impacted thousands and is the subject of an ACLU lawsuit, were not impressed however by Raimondo’s assertion that action was taken quickly or effectively — and questioned the ousting of Melba DePena and Thom Guertin, while keeping Secretary of Health and Human Services, Elizabeth Roberts.

“After four long months, the issue is not firing two people who weren't the real decision makers,” said House Minority Leader Patricia Morgan. “The issue is why the top leaders chose to launch a woefully incomplete system to begin with. Those leaders knew it was not ready. "

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“This is Governor Raimondo's total failure of leadership and the height of her arrogance,” said Republican Party Chair Brandon Bell. “She ignored warnings about launching from the federal government, she fired approximately 40 people prematurely and she hired political people who had no business running the Department of Human Services."

Among those who criticized Raimondo on Thursday was Nicholas Oliver with the Rhode Island Partnership for Home Care, who has seen significant ramifications result from the UHIP problems. 

“Removing DHS Director DePena and Chief Digital Officer Guertin does not resolve provider reimbursement delays, nor resolves the current access to healthcare barriers caused by this UHIP implementation failure. I was underwhelmed by the Governor’s remarks today,” said Oliver.

Calling for Responsible Parties

The bulk of the criticism however focused on why Rhode Island moved forward despite warning from the federal government — and who should be held responsible for doing so. 

“Decisive action would have been to ‘just say no’ to the ludicrous idea of ignoring the federal government’s warnings against going live with the new UHIP system and turning off the old system before ensuring the new one worked properly,” said Pam Gencarella with taxpayer advocacy group OSTPA. “Can firing two people be considered ‘decisive action’ when that does nothing to fix the problem? There is no silver bullet that will help the failed project."

Representative Anthony Giarrusso, who was a vocal critic during the Assembly’s UHIP hearings, raised his concerns. 

“From an optics standpoint, something had to be done, because of how badly it went and how many people were negatively affected,” said Giarrusso.  “My biggest concern is someone made a decision to not listen to the Feds — to not make the change to UHIP -- and is that person one of the people who resigned?”

Former Director of Administration Gary Sasse pointed to Roberts, whose involvement in the development of the program dates back to the Chafee administration. 

“Taking action to hold staff accountable for the botched UHIP was long overdue - better late than never,” said Sasse. “However, it is not clear who was ultimately responsible to the Governor and General Assembly for UHIP implementation. Thus, I am surprised that the Secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services was not held publicly accountable.”

Cautious Optimism, Continued Opposition 

Some in the Governor’s Democratic Party — including Representative Patricia Serpa, who spearheaded the hearings into the problems in the fall, offered cautious optimism regarding the changes. 

"It is a step in the right direction and I am cautiously optimistic the Governor's comprehensive plan over the next 30 days will begin to turn things around,” said Serpa. “The House Oversight Committee will continue to hold public hearings and I am laser-focused on the final outcome because Rhode Islanders have been suffering for too long." 

Opponents, however, remained staunch in their view of the program, in light of other recent problems at the state level. 

"To maintain public confidence in government, it is appropriate to hold public officials and vendors accountable for their failures, as the governor did today. None of this, however, justifies $80 million in state funds and hundreds of millions of federal funds to create a computer system that is designed to expand reliance on and enrollment in public assistance programs,” said Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity CEO Mike Stenhouse.

“Given the increasing number of failed government boondoggles, from 38 Studios, to the DMV computer system, many others, and now UHIP, maybe we should finally realize that the state is incapable of taking care of our every need,” he added. 

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Related Slideshow: RI Leaders’ Questions for October 20 Hearing on “Botched” UHIP Rollout

Related Articles

• House UHIP Hearing Presses Roberts, DePena, DeBiase for Answers on Botched Launch
• Biggest Questions Facing Raimondo Administration’s Botched $500M UHIP Rollout
• RI Leaders’ Top Questions for Raimondo Administration on Botched UHIP Launch
• Rep. Serpa Demands Raimondo Intervene in Botched UHIP Rollout
• Raimondo Orders Expanded DHS Hours, Staff to Address Ongoing UHIP Problems
• Reps. Morgan, Quattrocchi Call UHIP Rollout Problems “Simply Unacceptable”
• ACLU Sues Rhode Island Over UHIP Food Stamp Delays
• NEW: Raimondo to Nominate Lt. Governor Roberts for Secretary of Health and Human Services
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• NEW: Roberts to Launch Operation Holiday Cheer 2011
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