Saturday, July 01, 2006

Feds Put Brakes On FSSA Privatization Plan

If FSSA Secretary Mitch Roob had gotten his way, a private contractor would have assumed control of determining elibigility and benefits for several welfare-related services as of today. That process was slowed down first by the administration and now by the federal government. The AP's Ken Kuzmer reports that Indiana risked the loss of federal funding if it did not obtain approval from the appropriate federal agencies before turning over the keys to a private contractor. The agency now expects the process to be delayed by four months.

In an earlier post today, we noted that FSSA has just acknowledged that it improperly took away Medicaid benefits from 10,000 Hoosiers during the first five months of the year. The agency agreed to restore benefits and follow appropriate review procedures which are required before terminating a recipient's benefits as part of a federal class action lawsuit brought against the agency.

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