Senators finalizing next steps as they look into CDPAP contract

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – New York State lawmakers continue to look into the state’s Medicaid home assistance program – known as CDPAP – after they left a joint senate hearing with more questions. Senators said they’re working to finalize next steps this week.

Senators expressed concerns after aspects of that testimony were found to be inaccurate. Senator James Skoufis promised there will be more to come.

“We’re having conversations this week in the senate, myself, Senator Rivera – who’s the health committee chair – Senate leadership to determine exactly what those next steps are,” said Skoufis, (D) 42nd Senate District.

Department of Health Commissioner James McDonald and Public Partnerships LLC (PPL) Vice President for Government Relations Patty Byrnes, testified at the joint senate hearing on August 21.

Senators had questions related to the bid process for the $11 billion contract the state awarded to PPL. They specifically asked if there was any communication between PPL and the Department of Health prior to the enactment of the budget. Byrnes response was ‘no’. 

But, eight days later, senators received a letter, reversing that part of the testimony.  Byrnes wrote, “I now understand that my responses to lines of questioning by Senators Skoufis and Rhoads, who asked me whether there had been communications between DOH and PPL before the enactment of the budget, were not accurate.”

Now, senators said they have even more questions about the bid process. “Were there other companies that were spoken to in March and early April before the budget was even adopted, or was it just PPL? If it was just PPL, why was it just PPL? Why was PPL in a budget bill draft whereby some attempted to provide them a no bid contract before that provision was negotiated out?,” asked Skoufis.

He’s the chairman of the investigations and government operations committee and said there’s bipartisan support for an investigation.

“We will continue to be probing, inquiring on this issue and seeking answers to our questions. Let’s also not lose sight of the fact that the department of justice in Washington has also opened up their own inquiry,” said Skoufis.

It remains unclear if another investigative hearing will take place. but skoufis says senate leaders had conversations yesterday, and those will continue today.

He said they will be finalizing what those next steps look like this week. A statement from Byrnes read: “PPL, the Department of Health, the State, Assembly, and Senate leaders remain committed to working together to ensure that individuals who rely on CDPAP services continue to receive the care they need. We maintain open lines of communication to address any issues or concerns raised by the communities we collectively represent and support.”

The Department of Health said they could not comment further on department communications with PPL, but a spokesperson shared a statement: “The shift to a single fiscal intermediary went through a standard procurement process at DOH, following the law passed by the State Legislature – and no State officials knew who would be selected until the procurement process was complete. The bottom line here is that New York saved CDPAP from a fiscal crisis by removing hundreds of wasteful administrative middlemen – including one who recently pled guilty to a $68 million fraud scheme. Now that we’ve ended the ‘wild west’ of the old system and moved to single fiscal intermediary with strong State oversight, New York can effectively protect CDPAP for home care users and workers and ensure the program delivers the best results for those who need it.”