Fiscal intermediary defends contract as unions and caregivers report widespread missed paychecks
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Summary
GT Independence officials told the committee their operations support 13,000 self‑directed clients and that reporting should align with contract metrics, while SEIU and caregivers described thousands of shorted paychecks, evictions, and hardships and urged data transparency and accountability for fiscal intermediaries.
Representatives of GT Independence and labor and caregiver groups testified on March 3 about the fiscal intermediary contract for Connecticut’s self‑direction home‑care program and recent payroll failures.
Depearl Barnett, president and chief operating officer of GT Independence, said the company serves as the contracted fiscal intermediary for the self‑direction program, handling payroll, taxes and compliance for more than 13,000 participants and their caregivers. Barnett said GTI already provides a substantial reporting infrastructure to the state (49 monthly reports and annual audited financial statements) and urged that any new legislative reporting requirements be aligned with existing contractual reports.
Committee members questioned GTI about past problems. Representative Gucker and others described constituent cases involving missed paychecks, overpayments and financial hardship for caregivers. Barnett said some issues stemmed from system transitions—most recently a change from annual to monthly authorizations that DSS later paused—and that GTI has worked with state departments to align authorization and eligibility systems. John Carmichael, testifying remotely, said GTI issues weekly payments after processing timesheets, files Medicaid claims for reimbursement and generally receives state reimbursement two to three weeks later.
Deidra Murch of SEIU1199 delivered stark testimony on behalf of direct care workers: she said that in November more than 5,000 PCAs’ paychecks were shorted or missing, that hundreds of grievances were filed in some months and that dozens of workers reported eviction or other severe hardship. Murch said GTI’s U.S. business reported profits of $75,000,000 in 2024 while payroll problems persisted in Connecticut and asked the committee to pass HB 5353 to require transparency metrics—call volume and service‑level data, number and percentage of on‑time paychecks and paycheck error rates—so stakeholders can monitor performance.
GTI officials said they take payment errors seriously, have worked with DSS and other stakeholders and asked to align reporting to existing contract deliverables to avoid duplication. The committee requested supplemental written reports and case data to follow up.