The head of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services said the agency has nearly cleared its backlog of incomplete contracts that risked people’s access to health services.
Even so, some organizations say the state still owes them tens of thousands of dollars for services already provided.
Director Charlie Brereton told state lawmakers during a Children, Families, Health, and Human Services Interim Committee meeting on Jan. 18 that the agency had nearly finished finalizing overdue contracts with organizations that provide public health services.
“We’ve been working around the clock throughout the fall and the winter to address the issue and hope that it never happens again,” Brereton said.
Brereton’s comments to lawmakers came after several state health contractors, including county health departments and behavioral health providers, told KFF Health News and other news organizations they had waited months for the department to approve or renew their contracts. As a result, the state didn’t cut checks for services provided and workers went without pay; some health organizations laid off employees and stalled services.
The state health department works with more than 4,000 private and public contractors across Montana. More than 700 of those had contracts due for review from June through December. Some providers said that at one point more than 200 contractors were affected, a number state officials wouldn’t confirm.
Brereton told lawmakers there could still be a handful of pending contracts “for a variety of reasons” but any that remain are a high priority.
Jon Ebelt, a health department spokesperson, wouldn’t specify how many contracts remained as of Jan. 23, but said those that d …
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The head of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services said the agency has nearly cleared its backlog of incomplete contracts that risked people’s access to health services.
Even so, some organizations say the state still owes them tens of thousands of dollars for services already provided.
Director Charlie Brereton told state lawmakers during a Children, Families, Health, and Human Services Interim Committee meeting on Jan. 18 that the agency had nearly finished finalizing overdue contracts with organizations that provide public health services.
“We’ve been working around the clock throughout the fall and the winter to address the issue and hope that it never happens again,” Brereton said.
Brereton’s comments to lawmakers came after several state health contractors, including county health departments and behavioral health providers, told KFF Health News and other news organizations they had waited months for the department to approve or renew their contracts. As a result, the state didn’t cut checks for services provided and workers went without pay; some health organizations laid off employees and stalled services.
The state health department works with more than 4,000 private and public contractors across Montana. More than 700 of those had contracts due for review from June through December. Some providers said that at one point more than 200 contractors were affected, a number state officials wouldn’t confirm.
Brereton told lawmakers there could still be a handful of pending contracts “for a variety of reasons” but any that remain are a high priority.
Jon Ebelt, a health department spokesperson, wouldn’t specify how many contracts remained as of Jan. 23, but said those that d …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]