Hardy County celebrates new health department; officials press state for more funds and faster payments
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Summary
Hardy County officials marked the January opening of a new county health department and used a regional leadership meeting to press for increased funding, full-time physicians at local health departments and fixes to state payment systems that county officials say have delayed provider reimbursements.
Bill Wires, administrator of the Hardy County Health Department, told leaders at the Potomac Highlands Regional Leadership Meeting in Hardy County that the county opened a new health department facility in January and that the project was helped by a $2,000,000 state contribution. "If anybody wants a tour, I'll be around after. I'll be glad to give you a tour," Wires said.
Why it matters: local health departments in growing parts of the Potomac Highlands said they need additional staff and steady funding to meet rising demand. Officials at the meeting urged state leaders to increase recurring support and to fix administrative bottlenecks that have delayed payments to local providers.
Wires and other local leaders urged the West Virginia legislature to provide enough funding for each local health department to hire a full-time physician. "I think the legislature needs to look at giving every local health department enough money to pay for a full time physician here," Wires said.
Attendees also raised operational problems with the state's credentialing and payment-processing systems. One attendee described an issue with Gainwell, a vendor associated with provider credentialing and pharmacy direct-pay processes, saying an approval backlog led to a roughly six-month delay in approved pharmacy payments and held about $400,000 in reimbursements. The attendee said Gainwell reported that more than 90% of applications were being denied during the treasury or audit review process.
West Virginia State Treasurer Larry Pack responded that the treasury is the distribution mechanism for some state funds but that approvals are handled by other state offices. "The mechanism of distributing the funds is through the treasury, but the approval to send the funds is through the monitor," Pack said, and he offered to run the concern to his staff and to help troubleshoot the approvals process.
Pack and others at the meeting described a broader problem of layered, slow administrative systems in Charleston that can create lengthy delays for local providers. Pack encouraged county officials to send specific examples by email and to use the treasurer's office as an escalation point when payments stall. "Wewe're really good in Charleston for making things way too complicated," Pack said.
Ending: Hardy County leaders said they will continue to press the legislature and executive branch for sustained funding for local public health and for fixes to credentialing and payment systems. Wires invited regional officials to tour the new facility and said the department will continue working with state partners to resolve outstanding payment and staffing issues.
