A top behavioral health advocate group told Illinois lawmakers at public hearing in Chicago on Thursday that multiple insurance companies managing the state’s Medicaid program owe community care providers an estimated $10 million on overdue bills stretching back to 2014.
Community Behavioral Healthcare (CBHA) CEO Marvin Lindsey revealed to members of the House Human Services Appropriations Committee that have some MCOs have made progress on paying providers since the panel’s last legislative hearing in March 2017.
“While some Managed Care Organizations have made progress in paying outstanding claims, before the start of the new contract date, our members are still owed $10 million that date back as far as three years,” said Lindsey.
The House panel, chaired by State Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago), is reviewing the Illinois Department of Health and Family Services’ new, $60 billion Medicaid managed care contract with seven different insurance companies that took effect January 1, 2018.
Among those behavioral health providers with outstanding bills payable by managed care insurance companies is Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, which is currently owed $2.3 million. Of that amount, $1,026,000 is 90 days or more overdue and $436,615 is more than 365 days overdue.
“According to their contract with the Illinois Department of Health and Family Services, managed care companies are required to pay 90% of claims within 30 days and 99% of claims within 90 days,” Lutheran Social Services of Illinois Home and Community Services Vice President Tim Sheehan. “Fortunately, some Medicaid managed care organizations have made a concerted effort to pay down outstanding claims while others have not.”
Lindsey also noted that the state has contracted a private auditor to examine MCOs’ estimated liabilities to providers and that a report is scheduled to be released next month, but that the auditor has yet to contact community behavioral health providers.
“I am not aware of the auditing firm contacting one of our members,” said Lindsey. “And an interim report is due February 2018 and the clock is ticking on both the report and our members getting paid.”
The Department of Family Services hired Meyers and Stauffer, LLC, effective November 1, 2017, to audit the current MCOs to estimate liabilities for services provided by community behavioral health providers from July 1, 2014 to December 31, 2017.
“Last March, we testified before this committee on the MCO contract on what we believed would lead to a smoother process and transitions for community behavioral health providers, and providers getting paid for services delivered was near the top of that list,” said Lindsey. “Over the last 9 months, some managed care companies have made progress in paying back claims, but the fact remains other insurance companies are seriously lagging behind and community behavioral health providers are still owed $10 million.”
- wordslinger - Friday, Jan 5, 18 @ 12:47 pm:
You have to give Rauner credit here — he is a very accomplished willful deadbeat.
- VanillaMan - Friday, Jan 5, 18 @ 1:16 pm:
But - he wasn’t in charge.
The checks are in the mail.
What bill?
Bruce thought he paid it already.
Can you please resend them?
Bruce wants to pay, but needs more time.
Would they take a check?
Would they take barter?
Have you seen the prairie chickens?
- Milkman - Friday, Jan 5, 18 @ 2:12 pm:
3 years? That’s nothing The state still owes me and several thousand others back pay from 6 years ago. Most doubt we’ll ever see it. You have to be a politician to rate getting your back pay in this state.
- @misterjayem - Friday, Jan 5, 18 @ 2:33 pm:
And deadbeat Bruce’s hammering of mental health providers won’t just harm the ill and their families — the inverse relationship between crime and access to health care is well established, e.g. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2018/01/03/new-evidence-that-access-to-health-care-reduces-crime/
– MrJM
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Jan 5, 18 @ 2:48 pm:
After JB Pritzker, has family, and their foundations gave $5 million to The Ounce, to help Diana Rauner, I’m constantly reminded of the comment that a “business decision” is being made to sue her husband Bruce.
This is a plan of the RaunerS, it’s sad.
- zatoichi - Friday, Jan 5, 18 @ 3:07 pm:
This bodes very nicely for all the providers who are supposed to start working with the MCOs on April 1 when Medicaid Managed Care is supposed to expand into the remaining counties where managed care does not currently exist.
- lump lump - Friday, Jan 5, 18 @ 3:57 pm:
Don’t lump all the MCOS together mister lindsey
He may have a very legit concern about some providers that are still owed money from some of them. But it is also worth noting that those providers were getting paid by the MCOs - during a time when the state wasn’t paying they MCOs or any one else. During the entire state budget impasse most of the MCOs kept paying.