* Press release…
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza announced on Tuesday that state revenues will allow her office to pay another $94 million in past-due bills to Home Service Care providers who care for the elderly.
Since taking office in December, Comptroller Mendoza has now paid a total of more than $235 million in past due bills owed to vendors for the state’s Department on Aging, she announced Tuesday at the West Point Plaza senior apartments on the Near West Side.
“Our actions prove our commitment to Illinois seniors, the Department on Aging, the Community Care Program (CCP), and our citizens who rely on the program to stay in their homes and avoid being placed in a nursing home,” Comptroller Mendoza said. “We’re doing what we can to help, but this isn’t a long-term solution. To ensure our state’s neediest people are cared for, we need Governor Rauner to meet his most basic constitutional duty to propose a balanced budget for the General Assembly to act on. While people in Illinois continue to suffer, he continues to shirk his responsibilities and refuses to take ownership of the crisis.”
While the comptroller is prioritizing human services and programs like CCP, her office can only pay the bills it receives. Because the Governor shirked his constitutional duty to propose a balanced budget for the General Assembly to act on — and has twice vetoed funding for these social services — there is no spending authority to pay bills owed to these providers for services not covered by Medicaid. Nearly $200 million in bills for such services are sitting at the Department on Aging due to the lack of a budget.
“It’s time for Gov. Bruce Rauner to stop using seniors as pawns in his vicious budget game, where he is exploiting their pain and suffering to get what he wants on his political wish list,” said Tanya Moses, home healthcare worker in the Community Care Program.
Ashley’s Quality Care, which provides home care services for seniors, is just one example of the consequences of this inaction. The Canaryville home care provider is owed about $800,000 in non-Medicaid payments from the state. The lack of funding has forced them to reduce the number of seniors they care for from 900 to 300 in the last two years.
To add insult to injury, Gov. Rauner’s administration has prohibited Community Care vendors from participating in third-party loan programs managed by the administration and widely used by vendors like the highly-paid consultants Governor Rauner wants to prioritize. At a time when many social service providers have exhausted their lines of credit from banks, these programs could give them access to operating funds they need to keep their doors open.
“It really shows where The Governor’s heart is when he has opened up the Vendor Assistance Program to some of America’s largest corporations but has denied offering the same kind of life preserver to our frail elderly,” said State Rep. Gregory Harris. “I think it’s small business in Illinois we should be helping. Big insurance companies and multinational corporations should have the capacity to take care of themselves.”
*** UPDATE 1 *** From the ILGOP…
“Susana Mendoza taking credit for releasing these funds is like an arsonist posing as a firefighter. She’s throwing water on a fire she started by starving providers in the first place.”
Pretty tough case to make against a liberal, female Democrat. Just sayin…
*** UPDATE 2 *** A buddy of mine who represents a company that loans money through the Vendor Assistance Program just called to say that Comptroller Mendoza could change some paperwork coding for social service providers on her own to get them into the bill-paying program. Mendoza’s Republican predecessor apparently refused to do so. So, it’s not Rauner’s fault, it’s actually hers.
Time to put away the press releases and get to work.
*** UPDATE 3 *** The comptroller’s office says they will hear out the company rep, but they’re pretty adamant that they can’t change the coding on these vendors and is likely a misinterpretation of the rules. It’s up to CMS, they say, and the agencies, which submit the coding to the comptroller.
- Stand Tall - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 10:41 am:
Sorry Mendoza but did you ever vote and pass a balanced budget when you were in the House, no you passed phony budgets and added debt including the $130 billion pension debt that costs us $9 billion a year in interest.
- RNUG - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 10:48 am:
Mendoza’s messaging is on target.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 10:50 am:
Why aren’t social service providers allowed in the Vendor Assistance Program?
Is that an indication Rauner doesn’t ever want to pay their bills, to them or a third party?
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 10:52 am:
===Why aren’t social service providers allowed in the Vendor Assistance Program?===
Not quite sure, but it could be because so many don’t have an appropriation.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 10:57 am:
“Sorry - Stand Tall - but did Bruce Rauner ever propose a balanced budget since he’s been in the Mansion, no, Rauner has proposed 3 phony budgets and added backlog debt of $12 billion, and on Rauner’s watch other debt has increased, including the $130 billion pension debt that costs us $9 billion a year in interest”
Better.
- Earnest - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 10:58 am:
>She’s throwing water on a fire she started by starving providers in the first place.”
I’m not sure she’s been in office long enough to be tagged with starvation, but I agree with the GOP that a current office holder should be held accountable for their performance while in office independent of whomever held the office in the past.
- RNUG - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 10:58 am:
===Why aren’t social service providers allowed in the Vendor Assistance Program?===
== Not quite sure, but it could be because so many don’t have an appropriation. ==
Maybe it’s about who gets blamed for the problem.
If they aren’t allowed in, you can kind of deflect and blame the rules / bankers. If they were allowed in, then it would become obvious the problem is no budget / no appropriation.
- RNUG - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 11:02 am:
== She’s throwing water on a fire she started by starving providers in the first place.” ==
EXACTLY WHO started that fire?
Was it someone who didn’t submit a balanced budget?
Was it someone who outright vetoed a budget that did reach their desk?
Was it someone who had their wingman divert GRF money to the SSRF to pay for a desired computer software upgrade?
Hard to blame all those actions on someone who wasn’t even in the Comptroller’s Office when the matches were struck.
- pawn - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 11:04 am:
The Vendor Assistance Program is only open to those providers who are eligible for interest under the Prompt Payment Act. The program only works if the VAP can make money on the loans they are fronting to the providers — that profit comes from the provider transferring all rights to the interest, which is a hefty 12% annual rate, to the VAP financer. NOT EVERY PROVIDER OR SERVICE IS ELIGIBLE UNDER THE PROMPT PAYMENT ACT. Just another example of the unfair contracting environment providers must operate in.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 11:06 am:
===EXACTLY WHO started that fire? ===
The fire has been burning for a very long time. It’s like an underground mine fire. But somebody drove a gasoline tanker train down the mine shaft a couple of years back.
- RNUG - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 11:08 am:
Rich,
Good point about the long simmering coals. I was just looking at the latest conflagration.
- Sidad60 - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 11:09 am:
Why can’t she just bite her tongue and write the checks, instead of feeling the need to stand in front of reporters and cameras to get another dig in. and the same goes for all of ‘em. This cr@p never ends
- @MisterJayEm - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 11:09 am:
“Bruce Rauner taking credit for releasing funds is like kidnapper posing as a rescuer. He’s just releasing hostages that he took in the first place.”
Fun game, ILGOP!
– MrJM
- Juice - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 11:23 am:
===Why aren’t social service providers allowed in the Vendor Assistance Program?===
== Not quite sure, but it could be because so many don’t have an appropriation. ==
For some of the bills, it very well could be that without an appropriation, VAP is unwilling to purchase the voucher. (Since, without an approp, there would not actually be a voucher.)
But the other issue is that the feds typically prohibit medicaid vouchers from being assigned to third parties.
There are ways around that, we are talking money here, but it’s complicated.
- Stand Tall - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 11:40 am:
Oswego Willy- Did Madigan and his minions bring forth a balance budget since Rauner has been governor? Have they offered any reforms or compromise to get anything done, Rauner has backed off on some of his agenda. Not all the $12 billion of debt has happened since Rauner as the temporary tax increase paid it down but did not eliminate. Madigan failed on the revenue side before Rauner took office. Better!
- JS Mill - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 11:48 am:
Mendoza has been on the job for 3 or 4 months now and the GOP/Rauner are blaming her for the backlog of bills to social services? Who are they kidding. What sayeth the Deputy Governor?
By their metric then, Rainer would be responsible for almost all of the state problems.
I’ll call that a fair trade if the will pony up and take the arrows.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 12:03 pm:
===minions===, ugh.
===Did Madigan and his minions bring forth a balance budget since Rauner has been governor?===
Article VIII, Section 2, (a) says clearly that governors propose budgets. You can actually read?
===Have they offered any reforms or compromise to get anything done, Rauner has backed off on some of his agenda===
… and yet, it was Rauner himself the undercut Leader Radogno and the Grand Bargain. Not Madigan, not Durkin, not the House… Rauner.
===Madigan failed on the revenue side before Rauner took office.===
Rauner asked, personally, as a Candidate, as Governor-Elect, even thanking Democrats for letting the tax expire.
Are you willfully ignorant or blissfully unaware?
Disingenuous to an absolute fault; to “propose”, to “sunsetting” on the tax Rauner wanted, to the truth that debt has increased because of Rauner’s inaction.
(Sigh)
- walker - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 12:16 pm:
Stand Tall: The answer to your first question about did she ever vote for a balanced budget, is Yes. How do reconcile your statement that Quinn paid down the past due bills, (while fully funding the ramped up annual pension payments), with your claim we had no balanced budgets?
- Albany Park Patriot - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 12:21 pm:
Rauner has a track record of attacking social services with glee. Hardly believable that he’s all of a sudden their boon friend.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 12:48 pm:
A few weeks ago Mendoza was saying it’s her discretion what funds things are paid out of….now she’s saying it’s the agencies obligation to tell her where it should come from. Which is it?
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 12:49 pm:
===where it should come from===
Um, no. You’re misreading.
- CCP Hostage - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 12:51 pm:
It is worth noting that this money is all part of the Medicaid waiver. Illinois gets about a 50% match from the Feds. The VAP argument is complicated. CCP providers are eligible for prompt payment interest and the portion of our money not being paid is not Medicaid. But it sits in Aging.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 12:54 pm:
For crying out loud, “coding?” Are we to believe our Software Overlords won’t allow social service vendors to participate in VAP?
If that’s the only issue, then I’m sure Rauner and Mendoza can work it out. Get on it, like yesterday, and make it happen.
If it doesn’t happen, pay close attention to who jams it up. That will reveal true motivation.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 12:57 pm:
==Um, no. You’re misreading.==
Then what does code refer to, other than the code each fund is assigned?
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 1:01 pm:
===other than the code each fund is assigned===
It’s for vendors who qualify for prompt payment act. Try to keep up here.
- A guy - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 1:18 pm:
==Try to keep up here.==
Start by picking a name.
- Perrid - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 1:28 pm:
===For crying out loud, “coding?” Are we to believe our Software Overlords won’t allow social service vendors to participate in VAP?===
Wordslinger I don’t think they are referring to computer code, but to paperwork that puts providers into certain categories. That’s just my interpretation of the article, I don’t know what code they are referring to. So, if that’s correct, there’s a question of who has to fill out which forms that is stopping providers from getting paid now rather that when the state gets around to it. Lovely…
- downstate mom - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 1:28 pm:
vendors aren’t eligible because of state law, rules and federal law prohibiting. it’s not a simple matter of changing coding, since there is no other code to run these payments under per ILCS. I have heard that there is also contract language that would nullify contracts if debts were sold.
- sharkette - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 3:49 pm:
SOME VAP vendors will not accept ” software” transactions. Been there, The reasoning is IF the vendor does not pay their vendor, the software may shut down, or off. SO yes, it is discretion on the 3rd party, mostly decided by their individual boards and risk calculations by their own banks
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Mar 28, 17 @ 3:56 pm:
JS Mill -
Mendoza ceased paying numerous small business vendors as soon as she started her job, because at the same time she took over Comptroller position, DOIT employees who weer under CMS became under the Governor, and CMS/ DOit had small business parables that were appropriated out of a certain fund, the one with the 93m in it, and she decided to not pay them. And she decided so because she does not like the Governor. And also JS Mill - this caused an additional 2MILLION in interest payments due for her failure to release monies in a fund that had cash appropriated to pay some invoices to some vendors & those funds as she does not understand her job. So instead she ran media adds balming the Gvoenor for an ERP system, that Quinn actually started oo, SHe is very misinformed about most things that come out of her mouth
- Grow up - Wednesday, Mar 29, 17 @ 7:50 am:
Stand Tall must work for Rauner