ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDUP; Spilt Milk and Backpay

(I'm late posting this. I was off yesterday.)

Just a few days, a state employees union, on its website and on fliers, was saying that the administration of Gov. Susana Martinez was “crying over spilt milk” and encouraging members to send letters to the governor demanding she “show us the money!”

But by the end of the week, a union spokesman was sounding more conciliatory and was expressing optimism that back pay for a long-promised raise could be coming soon.

“We’ve dropped that line about the spilled milk,” Miles Conway, a spokesman for the America Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said Thursday.

It’s hard to say exactly when the milk was spilled, but the issue goes back to the second term of Martinez’s predecessor, Bill Richardson, who didn’t follow union contracts in distributing money provided by the Legislature for raises for thousands of state employees.

For more, go to the full version on The Santa Fe New Mexican's site.

R.I.P. John Dendahl

Dendahl in 2006

John Dendahl was a reporter's dream. The former state Republican Party chairman always was friendly and had a great sense of humor. He always returned reporters' phone calls and he always had something interesting, often provocative, to say.

Dendahl died this morning in a Colorado hospital from complications from treatments for leukemia. His widow Jackie Dendahl said he'd been in the hospital for a month. He was 75.

He ran for governor in 1994 but lost to political newcomer Gary Johnson, who went on to win the general election that year. That same year Dendahl was elected as state Republican Party chairman, a position he held until 2003.

Toward the end of Johnson's administration, Dendahl publicly agreed with the governor's position that the drug war had been a failure and that marijuana should be legalized. This angered many members of his party including the then-powerful U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, who initially called for Dendahl's resignation.

Though Dendahl lost his final bid for the party chairmanship, in 2006 he became the GOP's candidate for governor against incumbent Bill Richardson after Dr. J.R. Damron of Santa Fe, who'd won the Republican primary, stepped down.

At that point Richardson was very popular, however, and Dendahl had a hard time raising money. He lost in a landslide.

Not long after that election, he and his wife moved to Colorado. He continued his interest in politics, writing columns and letters to the editor.

Jackie Dendahl said he recently had been helping Tom Tancredo, a former Republican congressman from Colorado who is running for governor.

Political consultant Jay McCleskey, who served as executive director of the state GOP during part of Dendahl's tenure as chairman, said in statement, "John Dendahl was a unique person who was as tenacious in politics, as he was competing as an Olympic skier and deserves a lot of credit for helping end one-party dominance in the state. For as tough as he was in political debates and campaigns, I knew him as a warm man who truly cared about people and almost always had a smile on his face. He will be missed."

Earl Potter of Santa Fe, who was state chairman of the Democratic Party during Dendahl's early years as GOP chairman said he was saddened by Dendahl's death. "He knew how to insult without being offensive," Potter said. "He knew how to make people mad, but on a personal level, he was extremely gracious." Hearing of Dendahl's death, Potter said, "makes me homesick for the day when parties could fight in public, then come together on important issues."

The current state GOP chairman John Billingsley issued a statement saying, “Dendahl advocated for conservative principles and was a strong leader for our Party during his time of service. As a former athlete and competitor, he carried his competitive spirit throughout his leadership role with the Party, working hard to make positive changes. He was known for boldly expressing his convictions and standing for what he believed was right. During his time as Chairman, he worked hard to combat the corruption that existed within individuals within our state government at the time, successfully lead and grew the Party, and left a lasting legacy here in the state of New Mexico.”

More in tomorrow's New Mexican.

Did Orrin Hatch Read My Story Today?

Sen. Orrin Hatch

U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, is the latest to tout the Chris Christie/Susana Martinez "dream ticket" for 2016, a political meme that I wrote about in today's New Mexican.

In a story in The Politico, today Hatch said, “I think that the man really is an exceptionally tough, smart, good conservative who literally appeals across the board, which is what the Republicans need to have. And let’s face it, Susana Martinez has a lot of qualities that would help a lot of people to understand that the Republican Party is a broad base party.”

As I pointed out in my story, there has been a lot of talk in the national chatter class since Gov. Martinez went to New Jersey Monday to campaign for Christie. I wouldn't be surprised if the Christie/Martinez idea intensifies considering Christie won 51 percent of the Hispanic vote in New Jersey in his landslide victory last night. (I don't think Martinez can take full credit for that, but her appearances Monday couldn't have hurt in that area.)

But a word of caution: President Giuliani hadn't chosen a running mate at this point before the 2008 election.

Two Behavioral Health Providers Get Funding Restored

UPDATED 

Human Services Secretary Sidonie Squier

(See below the Human Services release)

 In the latest development in the behavioral health shakeup, the state has agreed to restore Medicaid funding to two New Mexico providers under investigation. 

Here's the press release from the state. . 

Santa Fe – Today, the New Mexico Human Services Department (HSD) announced the release of two additional Medicaid pay-holds to agencies audited by the State earlier this year.  Both agencies are severing ties with TeamBuilders and its various corporate and non-profit affiliates and will together agree to repay $4,240,000 in behavioral health funding alleged to have been improperly billed to the Medicaid system.  

Presbyterian Medical Services (PMS) and Youth Development, Inc. (YDI) received the lift on their pay-holds after agreeing to pay back overpayment amounts found by a recent audit of behavioral health companies in New Mexico.  PMS will repay $4,000,000 and YDI will repay $240,000.  PMS and YDI will also be subject to intensive new training and oversight of its management until billing and management systems are fully operational and determined to be sound.  

Each of the companies will continue to provide behavioral health services to their clients, though Valle del Sol will provide temporary oversight of YDI and La Frontera will provide temporary oversight of PMS.  Among other tasks, Valle del Sol and La Frontera will train and provide technical assistance to staff members at each company, ensure program compliance with state and federal laws and rules, require accurate and timely billing (including pre-submission review of claims), and assist in developing new performance measures.    

“We have a responsibility to protect taxpayer dollars and to ensure that consumers are receiving continued access to care. This is a positive outcome that allows us to recoup a significant portion of the Medicaid funding that has been identified as overpayments,” said HSD Secretary Sidonie Squier. “PMS and YDI should be commended for working with the State from the get-go to improve service delivery, acknowledge the need to repay overpayments assigned to their work, and sever ties with other troubled entities.” 

PMS and YDI are not among the behavioral health companies with the most serious or numerous whistleblower complaints against them, which include allegations that, in other companies, employees were told to intentionally up-code services as a means of siphoning extra money out of the Medicaid system, told to bill for services never provided, or told to obstruct the reporting of critical incidents to proper authorities and regulators. 

Additionally, neither PMS nor YDI are as deeply engrained in the complex financial relationships and potential conflicts of interest that exist around the entities that comprise the seven Rio Grande behavioral health care companies and the numerous not-for profit and for-profit companies that are closely related to TeamBuilders.  

Today’s announcement is separate and distinct from, and has no bearing on, the continuing criminal investigation being conducted by state and federal authorities into the conduct of all 15 companies audited this year.

UPDATE 3:35 p.m. Some new information since I first posted this.

Human Services spokesman Matt Kennicott said that there are no other settlement negotiations with any of the other providers under investigation.

Unlike other providers under investigation, both PMS, which operates statewide, and YDI, which has facilities in Albuquerque and in Valencia County, have remained open seeing their clients for the past several months. Kennicott said they have been using their cash reserves to stay afloat.

PMS serves 3,400 behavioral health clients on Medicaid, while YDI serves about 260.

Sen. Bill O'Neill, D-Albquerque, who has been one of the leading critics of the administration over the mental-health shakeup, had the following statement about today's developments:

"To me, this is just more of the same attempt at positive spin by the Martinez Administration. Whatever the ultimate resolution of this (Human Services Department) induced audit crisis is, there was absolutely no reason to destroy our existing state's mental health system in the process. The 15 non profit behavioral health providers were not given the chance to review the findings and respond accordingly. They were denied due process. We still do not know what the actual allegations are -- none of us do. I have also noticed that (Human Services) is very fond of the word `siphon.' Well, how about the word, `hijacked'? Or `hostile takeover', by out-of-state, Arizona companies?"

Youth Development Inc. just sent this news release:

After four months of working with the Human Services Department on the behavioral health audit conducted by PCG, YDI and the Department have reached a settlement.    However, YDI did not fully agree with the processes employed by the State and PCG.  Seeking resolution, YDI fully cooperated with HSD in this matter and continued to provide services while payments to it were suspended. 

In the interest of resolving all differences between YDI and HSD amicably, and in order to avoid the time, trouble, expense, delay and uncertainty of the time litigating this matter we believed this was the most prudent path for YDI to take. 

The amount settled for is about 8 percent of the amount billed over the last 3 years.  According to the GAO, the National average claim failure rate is between 3 percent  and 9 percent .  We are working diligently with the State and Valle del Sol to improve to our behavioral health systems in order to reduce that rate to zero.   

We look forward to continue to serve the many people who are our consumers and who have put their faith and confidence in the critical services YDI has provided for over 42 years.

UPDATE: 5:15 pm  PMS just issued a statement quoting CEO Steve Hansen saying, "While we have never agreed with the State’s contentions, allegations, or actions, PMS’s primary motivation in settling was to preserve its critical safety net behavioral health services and over 200 New Mexico behavioral health jobs.”

The statement also said, "This settlement resolves all potential civil and administrative disputes with the State. PMS was unwilling to sacrifice services to so many New Mexico communities, choosing resolution instead of a long legal battle."

More in tomorrow's New Mexican.

Susana Martinez: Jersey Girl

So where in the world is New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez today?

New Jersey, of course. After her recent swing through the South, Martinez is in Jersey campaigning for Gov. Chris Christie, who is up for re-election tomorrow. Republican Christie is expected to win big and start immediately campaigning for president.

Martinez will join him at campaign stops in Nutley, Hillside, Freehold, South Plainfield, Morris Plains, and Union City, according to NJ.com.

In 2010, Christie campaigned for Martinez here in New Mexico.

The report from NJ.com says Martinez's appearances is Christie's

... latest attempt to reach out to the Hispanic community, a constituency he has courted often throughout his campaign and one Christie will need should he jump into the 2016 presidential election.

"As we enter the final days of the campaign having her on the trail is going to help us tell our story and bolster our vision for the next four years," said Christie campaign spokesman Kevin Roberts. It also makes another statement about what we are doing and the non-traditional support we are getting."

New Jersey Democrats aren't happy about this. In a news release the state party wrote, "... Christie and Martinez have a lot in common. Both governors are former prosecutors with records of abusing their official powers to reward their political allies and tank their state economies."

ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDUP: More Fun With Common Cause's Lobbyist Report

What industry had the most lobbyists working the New Mexico state Legislature this year? Was it the oil and gas industry, which is responsible for a huge portion of state revenues? Was it the big pharmaceutical companies? The liquor industry? Ranchers? Chile farmers?

None of the above, actually. According to the study released last week by Common Cause New Mexico, the special interest that hired the largest number of lobbyists was government, including local and tribal governments as well as public educational agencies.

The study found (based on information from the Secretary of State’s website and the Institute of Money in State Government) that there were 250 lobbyists hired by government agencies working the Roundhouse halls during the last session, which ended in March.

Look at it this way: There are 112 legislators, so there were more than two government lobbyists for every lawmaker.

For more check out today's New Mexican.

For my story on the lobbyist report last week CLICK HERE

For the Common Cause report itself CLICK HERE

Governor Chooses Vickie Perea for Easley's Seat

If you predicted that Gov. Susana Martinez would chose a fellow Republican to replace the late Stephen Easley in the state House of Representatives, you were right.

Martinez went with Vickie Perea, a former Albuquerque city councilor. This means the political composition of the House will be 37 Democrats and 33 Republicans in next year's session. Perea will have to run for election to the seat next year if she wants to stay.

Here's the governor's statement:

Today, Governor Susana Martinez appointed Republican Vickie Perea to the State House of Representatives District 50 seat. Perea will fill the vacancy created by the passing of State Representative Stephen Easley. She will assume the term that ends December 31, 2014. 

Perea, a former Democrat, is a  native New Mexican, wife, mother, and grandmother with a varied, life-long history of public service. As an employee and administrator at the City of Albuquerque, she served for twenty-five years. After her retirement from the City, Perea served for four years as a City Councilor, which included service as Council President. In addition to her tenure as an elected official, Perea has devoted much of her time to service in other capacities, including past work as a Regent for Trinity International University, as a member of the Board of Directors and Chairperson of New Mexico First, and as Vice-Chairperson of the Unification Charter Commission for the City of Albuquerque/Bernalillo County.  She has previously also been involved with the New Mexico Municipal League and the Hispano Chamber of Commerce. Perea attended the University of New Mexico and completed the program for executives in state and local government at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and holds an Honorary LLD, Doctor of Laws from Cohen University and Theological Seminary.  

“I had an opportunity to speak with all three nominees for this position and appreciate their willingness to serve,” Governor Martinez said. “In Vickie, the citizens of House District 50 have a passionate public servant who will bring a fresh voice to the Legislature.  She is capable of working across party lines and is well-qualified to help craft public policy that will benefit New Mexico’s economy, schools, and families.” 

More in tomorrow's New Mexican