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Senate panel hears providers say DHS transition left them unpaid; agency pledges fixes and off-cycle payments
Summary
Providers told the Senate State Agencies & Governmental Affairs Committee that a March 1 transition to managed-care “passes,” delayed provider enrollment and billing-system errors have left many providers unpaid, causing layoffs and near-bankruptcy; DHS acknowledged the problems and pledged technical help, an off-cycle run and a follow-up hearing.
Little Rock — Providers from behavioral-health and substance-abuse programs told the Senate State Agencies & Governmental Affairs Committee that months-long delays in getting paid by the Department of Human Services have left some clinics insolvent and forced layoffs and closures.
Cindy Gillespie, director of the Department of Human Services, acknowledged “operational issues associated with payment,” said DHS staff are on-site to provide technical assistance, and pledged an off‑cycle run so an affected provider can receive payment this week. “We sincerely… apologize for the issues they’ve had,” Gillespie said.
Why it matters: Providers said the March 1 switch to three managed-care “passes” and the accompanying IT and coding handoffs left billing systems untested, caused rates and codes to be transmitted incorrectly and delayed provider enrollment. That, they said, prevented clean claims from flowing through clearinghouses and left organizations with unpaid claims, payroll…
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