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Wayne County committee weighs outsourcing Medicaid preschool billing to McGuinness
Summary
Public Health staff outlined costs and compliance benefits of switching from a basic Medicaid billing package to a full-service McGuinness arrangement; committee signaled interest in a two-year trial while building internal capacity.
The Wayne County Health & Medical Services Committee discussed a proposal June 1 to replace the department's basic McGuinness Medicaid billing package with a full-service arrangement that would outsource all Medicaid billing activities to McGuinness. Public Health Deputy Director Kerry VanAuken told the committee the change "could increase Medicaid preschool revenue, reduce the county's risk of non-compliance with OMIG, and allow the department's Senior Account Clerk to cross-train in early intervention billing in anticipation of the current employee's retirement in approximately two years." VanAuken said the cross-training would give county staff experience with third-party billing processes.
VanAuken presented specific cost comparisons: the department's current basic service package costs $1,333 per month ($15,996 annually). The proposed full-service package would cost $20,000 annually plus a fee equal to 5% of weekly Medicaid remittances. She used two examples: a May 21, 2026 Medicaid preschool deposit of $72,079.53 would yield a 5% fee of about $3,604, and 2025 preschool Medicaid revenue of $1,100,898.42 would translate to a 5% fee of $55,044.92; combined with the annual service fee, the projected total annual cost would have been $75,044.92. Committee members expressed interest in pursuing a two-year contract as a trial while staff develop internal expertise; VanAuken agreed to obtain additional information from McGuinness and report back to the committee.
