Senate Leadership
September 24, 2008
Democrats: Root Out Wasteful Spending Before Slashing Critical Services
Democratic Leaders & State Comptroller want immediate audit of largest state agency
Senator Williams joined House Speaker James Amann, State Comptroller Nancy Wyman and Democratic legislative leaders to announce that the Comptroller’s office will conduct an immediate and thorough audit of the Department of Social Services (DSS) in order to eliminate waste and over-budgeting. (September 24, 2008)
Democratic legislative leaders, including Senate President Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D-Brooklyn) and Speaker of the House James Amann (D-Milford), joined State Comptroller Nancy Wyman today to announce that the Comptroller’s office will conduct an immediate and thorough audit of the Department of Social Services (DSS) in order to eliminate waste and over-budgeting.
“We understand the challenges facing so many of Connecticut’s families, as well as the state itself,” said Senator Williams. “We must focus on eliminating waste and inefficiency in state government before vital programs are slashed. The time to do this is now, while we’re still waiting to see how the Wall Street meltdown will affect our state budget.”
“The time is now to prepare and the first thing that needs to be done is to look at our budget to find efficiencies and ways to improve the bottom line," said Speaker Amann. “What we shouldn’t do is act hastily in a way that unnecessarily harms state residents or increases pressure on local property taxes.” House Majority Leader Christopher G. Donovan said, “We need clear-headed analysis of hard numbers. This will be a tough fiscal year, maybe the toughest in a decade, but let’s not panic. Let’s analyze the data and find solutions.”
The Appropriations Committee, and the Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee will hold a joint fiscal accountability meeting on Nov. 18th, when a more complete picture of the state budget can be ascertained. This timetable, which allows the legislature to analyze tax filings from the first quarter of the current fiscal year, is set by state statute.
“We will have a more realistic budget picture in November, when the effect of the tumult on Wall Street can be better analyzed,” said Senator Looney. “That does not mean we must wait until November to start dealing with the looming budget deficit. We owe it to taxpayers to root out wasteful spending and that’s what this audit does.”
“Government owes it to our taxpayers to closely scrutinize how more than a quarter of our state budget is being spent every year,” said Comptroller Wyman. “Unfortunately, DSS has had significant difficulty tracking expenses in many different program areas, which has raised many questions during the legislative budget process. This audit can help better control where these tax dollars are going and identify cost-saving efficiencies to help the state through this economic downturn.”
The Department of Social Services is the largest state department, with an FY09 budget of $5.3 billion — over one-quarter of the entire state budget. Considering the significant changes DSS has experienced over the last year, the size of its budget, and the current economic challenges facing the state budget, the audit could not come at more crucial time.
The following are areas we feel require scrutiny:
Carry forwards: This year alone, DSS has requested to carry-forward over $100 million dollars — the vast majority of this is in retroactive Medicaid payments and rate increases that DSS owes providers. It is unclear how DSS hopes to make these payments, and we need better answers as to why this large amount of money is carried forward.
Multiple changes in HUSKY: Recent changes in HUSKY have resulted in unknown costs to the HUSKY program and the state. We need to know how these changes have affected the cost of the program to the state.
- The contracts with managed care organizations (MCOs) were abruptly terminated by Governor Rell in November 2007.
- The HUSKY program moved to a fee-for-service model, largely administered by Anthem.
- This past month, DSS has begun moving HUSKY clients back to managed care. This involves two new plans that have not previously been involved with the HUSKY program — Aetna and United. These plans have inadequate networks, and it is unclear how the transition is proceeding.
COHP/HUSKY start-up: Charter Oak Health Plan (COHP) is a major new undertaking for DSS. DSS and the governor have linked this program to HUSKY, using the same managed care organizations for both programs, and requiring that providers participate in both programs. We need to assess the costs associated with the start-up of this program.
Dollars appropriated for programs that are not implemented, or only partially implemented: Although DSS has been allocated dollars to implement important initiatives and fund community-service programs, DSS does not consistently start the programs in a timely fashion or fund community programs as directed. It is not clear when, if ever, DSS will spend the money on these programs.
Examples:
- Disease management. DSS has been given $1.5 million in both FY08 and FY09 to implement a disease management program that has not yet begun.
- Primary Care Case Management (PCCM). $2.5 million was appropriated in both FY08 and FY09 but the program has not yet begun.
- Medical interpreting services. $4.7 million was allocated in both FY08 and FY09 but the program has not yet begun.
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Senator Williams’ Derek Slap |
Listing of Leadership’s recent press releases. |
Senator Looney’s Derek Slap |
