A host of political rivals heaped criticism Monday on Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo over how the state missed a timely appeal in a court case involving nursing homes — a situtation that could cost the state $24 million.
“Raimondo’s administration is once again costing Rhode Islanders millions to fix problems she and her administration have caused through their mismanagement,” Cranston Mayor Allan Fung, a Republican, said in a statement. “Rhode Islanders don’t want this administration and its disasters to keep going – they want it all to go away!”
Matt Brown accused fellow Democrat Raimondo of being too focused on fundraising and not enough on managing the state: “Raimondo has a pattern of expressing ‘disappointment,’ blaming others and saying that she will hold someone accountable for her administration’s repeated failures. She never accepts responsibility – or apologizes to Rhode Islanders.”
In a statement, Raimondo said, “I am deeply disappointed and frustrated by this development. It is unacceptable. I will make sure that OHHS takes every step possible to hold the people who put us in this position accountable.”
On Monday, the state filed an appeal in Superior Court asking a judge to side to still consider the case, even though the deadline for a timely appeal was last month.
“We believe we have a case on the merits and interpret the law today just as we did in 2016,” Ashley Gingerella O’Shea, spokeswoman for the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services, said in an email. “Two previous administrative hearings ruled for the State, finding Medicaid’s reimbursement rates are in line with the statute and the General Assembly’s intent in passing the legislation.”
Gingerella O’Shea did not immediately respond to related questions.
But if Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Lanphear declines to still consider the state’s appeal, Rhode Island could be on the hook for an unexpected $24 million in retroactive payments to nursing homes.
Larry Berman, a spokesman for House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello, said the House version of the state budget is still a work in progress and that no date has been set yet for consideration. (Before the news broke about the missed deadline, the spending plan was expected to emerge in the House Finance Committee Thursday.) “Speaker Mattiello is aware of the problem and he and the fiscal staff are working on options to address it,” Berman said.
In a statement, independent candidate for governor Joe Trillo said, “Rather than take responsibility, the Raimondo is doing what it does best, passing the buck, placing the blame on someone else, a state lawyer, for missing the deadline. This doesn’t fly with me, nor anyone else, who understands how state government and the legal system works. The fact of the matter is Governor Gina Raimondo herself, as well as her Health & Human Services Secretary Eric Beane, under her direct leadership are charged with overseeing such matters so critical to our state’s financial resources. Now, a missed filing deadline in a nursing home lawsuit will most likely cost the state millions of Medicaid dollars and this is completely unacceptable.”
The lawyer responsible for making the appeal, Gregory Hazian of Cranston, has donated a total of $1,700 to various elected officials since 2002, including Mattiello, according to state campaign finance records.
