Bill Summary for Bill Number Counties' Presentation

Final
Counties' Presentation

COMMITTEE ON JOINT HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Votes:

Action Taken:

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10:48 AM - Presentation by representatives of Colorado counties on the Colorado Benefits Management System

Susan Beckman, Roxane White, and Tom Mayer, representing Colorado counties, came to the table and distributed a handout from Colorado Counties Incorporated (Attachment F).

10:49 AM -- Roxane White, Denver County, distributed a handout concerning the implementation of CBMS in Denver County (Attachment G). She discussed progress made addressing the backlog of cases to be entered into CBMS and stated that the greatest challenge faced by Denver County in implementing CBMS is in determining the eligibility of persons for Medicaid. She discussed the Departments' supplemental budget request. She stated that financial reports generated by CBMS are so inaccurate that they may affect the ability of counties to audit programs, which, in turn, may affect counties' bond ratings.

10:54 AM -- Tom Mayer, Boulder County, stated that progress has been made regarding CBMS but that the system is still not functional for counties. He stated that counties have had to use their own dollars to reduce the backload of cases waiting to be entered into CBMS and that urgent action by the state and the counties is needed to help address the problems with CBMS.

10:58 AM -- Susan Beckman, Arapahoe County, discussed county recommendations for addressing problems with CBMS. She stated that the legislature should require accurate reports from CBMS, that legislators and counties need to better understand the contract between the Departments and the CBMS vendor, Electronic Data Systems (EDS), that the counties should be included in the identification of problems and the development of benchmarks to address the problems, and that the counties should be included in any process determining the appropriate amount of funding for the Departments' supplemental budget request. She stated that the counties need additional dollars to address problems with CBMS. She further discussed county recommendations for improving CBMS, including reviewing the definition of system overpayments and conducting an independent evaluation of CBMS, with legislative review.

11:04 AM -- The representatives from the counties responded to questions from the committee regarding staff training necessitated by the implementation of CBMS. Mr. Mayer discussed the contractual obligations of EDS and Ms. Beckman responded to questions from the committee regarding overpayments of benefits. A handout regarding Department of Human Services county administration funding was distributed to the committee (Attachment H). The county representatives responded to questions regarding the overpayment of benefits.